Three years and Counting
by eragonone
Summary: Eli has been left alone on Destiny...What is he going to do with himself
1. Chapter 1, chapter2

Chapter one

Eli looked at the depths of space, the colours you couldn't describe if you tried, the worlds they had visited , the beings they had encountered and contemplated the vastness of it all and the enormity of the task in front of him… What if he couldn't do it ? What if he died trying ? What if he ran out of food before he could finish his task and everybody was put in jeopardy ? What if ? What if ?.. Thoughts raced through his head. A grin formed. He loved a challenge. That's what got him here to begin with. Only this wasn't some computer game. He couldn't restart the level and try something else. He had to get it right first time and be certain of what he was going to do.

After what seemed an eternity Eli slowly raised himself up and took one more backward glance, a smile slowly appeared on his face as he entered the main corridor. Lights were at their lowest to save what energy left he could. Shadows played across the walls as he made his way to the bridge, noises seemed louder and his footsteps echoed eerily. This was the place that Rush had kept secret for so long. Now it was his turn to discover new things, new programmes and to discover the true soul of Destiny, the true purpose this ship was launched for so many millennia ago.

At first Eli just walked around the bridge familiarising himself with the various control panels and what information they produced. He touched the panels with his fingertips and almost seemed to be in a daydream. They floated along and lingered in some places and passed over others. Eli thoughts wandered, the ship had a mind of its own that he needed to master, no not master, not control, he needed to work in a partnership and he needed to work fast. He read the information from a few of the screens. Most of the information was just routine stuff. How fast they travelled and the temperature of the ship. He checked that there wasn't some power somewhere else he could save to give him more time. He needed time and it was time he didn't have. He was on a countdown and time was passing. Mind you three years was a long time. A long time to be alone. Mind you he spent a lot of time on his own at home in front of his computer playing games that took him to alternative universes. That was until O Neill had turned up and tore his old life apart and transported him to a starship that flew far above the earth and for crying out loud he was in his pj's! He knew he wouldnt be seeing his mother for a long if she wasnt there when he got home because he was getting home. Thoughts flew round and round his head.

"arrgh!" He cried in frustration. He had to stop thinking like this or he wouldn't get himself anywhere. He wandered around some more. Eventually he found himself at the most important place on the ship , the Captains chair. Eli slowly eased himself into it and sat looking out again at the depths of space. He felt the moulded seat arm under his hand and it felt good. He could get used to this. What a game chair. Unfortunately this wasn't a game. This was real life and this was really important. He began to click the various buttons and bring up various screens detailing data needed for the ship to run smoothly.

" Oh wow, this is better than Star Trek !" His voice echoed around the empty bridge, "I said that out loud! I'm really going to have to watch myself"

The bridge was silent again apart from the comforting hum of the ship and the odd bleep from the clicked on various programmes and checked the ship was doing just as it should The life pods were next. Everything was just as it should be. Then he did a scan of the space around the ship. Everything was fine. Next he listened to the sound Rush had found. The sound that drove Destiny to who knew what future. He tried playing with the pitch of the sound. There was something niggling at the back of his mind. Something familiar, something he had heard before. He listened to it a while longer and realised he was hungry and cold. He stood up and made his way to the mess hall to see what there was to eat.

What he wouldn't do for a bag of chips or a burger or a hotdog. His stomach growled at the memory. Or a coke! It had been that long he couldn't even remember the taste. He salivated just thinking about the combinations of food now denied him. When he sat down, it was to a bowl full of a vegetable of some sort. Not all food had been given names yet. He smiled as he thought of what his mom would say at the change in diet. This was like the old days when he was working on solving a problem in a game. He had to analyse the problem, compartmentalise it, he only had one chance at this. He looked around the empty mess hall, looking at all the empty places where his friends should be sitting, no not should, would. He was going to solve this. He pondered his situation as he ate and as he finished his meal realised how tired he was. He picked up his Keno control and set a number of Keno's to cover the ship. At least while he slept he would be made aware of anything happening.

Stiff and weary, Eli made his way slowly alone to his room. Wow! Another thought popped into his head. He could change rooms! He could sleep where he liked! Eli now hurried to his room. First he gathered his bedding, next a few of his personal items and carried them to the observation deck. A room with a view and what a view that was. After making his bed Eli climbed in. Exhausted from the days work. His mind going over what he needed to accomplish. His head nodded and within a few moments, slipped into a deep sleep.

While he slept, Destiny made small course changes, avoiding hazards which would damage the ship or endanger her human cargo . She was just a small element in a vast arena. Galaxy after galaxy, star after star. Heading for who knew where, for how long was anybody's guess. She had already travelled for a millennia. Witnessing things we couldn't even imagine in our wildest dreams. Eli slept on. The Kenos carried out their sweeps of the ship. Everything was right within the Destiny world.

Chapter two

Eli woke and rubbed his eyes and yawned. Then he looked around him. At first disorientated he remembered he moved rooms last night. He sat up and a happy grin widened on his face. He was just where he should be, wherever here was. Carefully he got out of bed and picked up the Keno hand control. He did a quick scan of the data and stopped. What was that? It looked like a shadow walking down one of the corridors. Surely not. He was seeing things. He ran the data again. No it was definitely human looking. So first he was hearing things and now he was seeing ghosts. He replayed the footage again. No it was definitely a person. This was too much. Well there was nothing for it, he was going to have to investigate. Reluctantly he took himself to one of the control columns and armed himself. He felt silly as well as scared. What did he think he was going to find. He checked on one of the screens to see if anything had been recorded by Destiny's systems. According to them there was nothing to be seen and nothing had occurred. This was getting weirder by the minute.

Eli made his way to the corridor where the person had been seen. On the way he found nothing out of the ordinary. He checked the doors that had been sealed and they hadn't been disturbed. He had sent a Keno ahead of him and that was showing him the same thing. There was nothing different, no clues nothing left behind to provide proof of anything at all happening. He daren't risk raising the lights because it would use up his valuable reserves of energy. He didn't know when destiny would choose to recharge if she had the opportunity to. Slowly he approached the corridor where the person had been seen. There was nothing there except the empty corridor. Then he noticed an open doorway. Swallowing hard he walked towards the open space. He recognised this now. Wasn't this Franklins old room. He hadn't thought about Franklin in a long time. Another tragic death. This one of self sacrifice to prove a point.

He entered the room slowly, his eyes scanning for anything that moved in the deep shadows. Nothing. There was nothing there. The room was as empty and bare as it had been for a long time. Franklins personal effects had been removed and stored a long time ago and no one had asked to be reassigned here. Eli walked up to the window and took a peek outside. Well the room did have a good view but Eli decided this would not be the room for him. He felt creeped out and he shuddered. Even though all the personal things were gone and it was as sterile as when they first arrived he felt like he was intruding and that this room really still belonged to Franklin. He still wondered what happened to him. It was a mystery with a lot of supposition. Nobody really knew what had happened to him. Apart from whining and whinging about how hard the beds were and how bad the food was nobody really mixed with Franklin much. He was the one who sat in the chair after tricking Eli to leave the room on the premise of getting some food. He succumbed to the chair and Eli had found him connected to the chair convulsing. Eventually they had got him out but he was in a coma and then became catatonic. When they had been attacked by the Nakai it was Franklin who begged to be put in the chair once more. He saved Destiny but in the process he died. At least that's what everyone assumed because there was no body. Some had said he had ascended, others that he had been vaporised by the chair and others that he had become part of the ships systems by having his conscious uploaded to the ship. Whatever had happened he didn't want to be here and Eli left the room and made his way to the bridge once more.

Eli liked the bridge it was spacious and had all the things in it Eli loved. Ancient had been a bit tricky to learn but he got the hang of it on the game he had played. The game that brought him here in the first place and look where that had got him. Lost in space, hurtling towards who knew what. But he had to get down to the business in hand. He went to the main console he had worked on yesterday. That was odd, there was a new diagnostic running for a system he'd never seen before. He didn't remember setting this off, not from here or from one of the other consoles dotted about the ship. He didn't even recognise the data it was processing. He tried to end the programme and was rewarded with a rather loud rude beep. Surprised Eli sat up. That wasn't right. He had the command key. Again he tried to overide the programme and again was rewarded with the same rude beep. If he didnt know any better he'd say Rush was up to something but Rush wasnt here. he was frozen with the others. Again he tried to find out what the programme was for and again was rewarded with the same went into the diagnostic programme and it told him that he didnt have access to this programme. He went to another console and tried again. Nothing, he wasnt going to get access so easily to this. There was a command prompt that he just didnt recognise. He typed a few prompts of his own and still got nothing.

He started back at the beginning, Eli typed away and then suddenly sat up. The programme had just disappeared. He typed some more. That couldnt be right! He hadnt turned it off he was sure. He clicked to the logs and began to scroll down. This was getting weird because according to Destiny no such programme had run

"Its got to be here" Eli groaned. This mission was going to be a lot harder than he thought .There was no record of it ever running, nothing. Eli's mind wondered back to his earlier thought. "I wonder if this is anything to do with Rush?"


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Eli worked well through the day. Hunger didn't even enter his thoughts. He worked from console to console. Each working on its own problem. First how to avoid the Nakai or even to find out where they were in space or how to detect them when they were far enough away to do something about it. He felt like a caveman compared to how quick and advanced they seemed to be. Even Rush would be of some help now. He never thought he would admit to that.

Wearily Eli stretched his cramped muscles and stopped. He looked slowly to the left. He was sure he saw something from the corner of his eye. Slowly he got up and stretched fully. There it was again just on the edge of his vision. Eli rubbed his eyes and then began to walk slowly around the bridge. If he stood in front of the large viewing window he would see someone, wouldn't he? If this was what he was like on day one, Eli thought, what was he going to be like after a week. He was going to lose his marbles, literally!

Well he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Time for lunch. Whoopee another bowl of the vegetables that still didn't have a name. He turned slowly still thinking about the task in hand and made his way back to the Mess Hall. He still felt creepy walking past the open doors of Jeremy Franklins room. He continued to make his way up the corridor and stopped. He closed that door he was sure he did. But when he thought about it he second guessed himself. Could he remember closing the door? But then it was one of those things you did all the time, wasn't it? Eli closed the door and walked back to the Mess Hall.

He was getting quite used to these unnamed veggies. They weren't too bad. He thought back to his mom arguing with him about how good vegetables were for you when he was younger. She bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't grow up big and strong if he didn't eat his greens. Well here he was big and strong and commanding a Star ship that was hurtling through space. He really missed his Mom. He hoped she was alright without him there.

He'd only been on his own a day or so and already he felt like he was loosing his marbles. He needed a distraction. Something to take his mind off what he was doing . He needed to do something entirely different. There were parts of the ship that no one had been to. There were new things to discover. He had time he had plenty of time. It might take his mind off the problem he had and might even find something that would help him. Excitedly Eli made his way back to the bridge. This was more like it. Something different and exciting. He reached the bridge and pulled up a map on the screen in front of him and studied it for few moments. He traced a route with his finger and decided that was the one. He transferred the route to his hand held console, studied it for a few moments and then got up from where he was sitting and headed off. Eli stopped suddenly. He still had to think about keeping himself safe. He needed a Keno. He was going to use that to see ahead, so if there were any hazards he'd get a heads up before putting himself in danger. Eli released a Keno from the dispenser and set it off on his route ahead of him. He took one last look at the bridge and set off on his expedition.

There were many corridors he was going to have to go down that hadn't even been opened. He gave the command for the lights to come on as he travelled down the corridors. There were signs of age and neglect. Some walls were oozing some sort of smelly black liquid, dust had gathered in the corners and behind pipes and every now and again it puffed up from Eli's feet as he travelled across the ship. Some of the doors took a while to open, they hadn't been opened in a long time and they protested at being made to work. Eli had to force them open after they got stuck and then squeeze himself through. As he walked he studied his hand held console and made notes. This was a good idea Eli thought to himself. It lifted his mood and it made him feel good.

Eli rubbed his eyes there was plenty of dust and most seemed to be up his nose making him sneeze or making its way into his eyes so his eyes felt gritty. He looked down at the hand held console. He was here! Well it didn't look too impressive to be honest. Not that he expected a fanfare or anything. He pushed the control to open the door. At first nothing happened and a very disappointed Eli sighed. He had worked himself up and was so looking forward to seeing what lay in here. Then the door opened very slowly at first, the mechanism was stiff from lack of use but eventually the whole doorway opened to reveal boxes and containers as far as the eye could see. Was this it? Eli didn't know what he expected but it wasn't boxes. Well he was here now. It was time to investigate what he had discovered. Like everywhere else in the ship a fine layer of dust covered everything and again it puffed up from his feet as he made his way further into the room. Was this going to be an Aladdin's cave or a total waste of time.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Eli felt like a naughty schoolboy. He looked over his shoulder once or twice to check no one was looking. He walked farther into the room. It was just full of boxes and containers. Some were labelled some weren't. Tentatively Eli walked to one of the boxes. There was no label instead there was just a simple closing mechanism. He reached forward and opened it. The lid silently lifted and Eli peeked inside. There were a lot of things, all wrapped in some of delicate paper. Eli opened one of the packages and lifted out the contents. It was a shirt! A shirt? He shook it open to take a better look at it. It was made of what felt like a very fine, off white cotton. It had long sleeves that didn't taper at the cuffs but instead stayed open. There were no buttons but instead some sort of highly embroidered tape that closed it near the shoulder. The embroidery was intricate with red and golds spun together. Well that didn't look too bad and it wasn't quite his style but what the heck, it looked like it might fit him. No harm in trying. He quickly put it on over his tee shirt. It felt good! Just to think the ancients wore these. He reached back inside and opened another packet. This was also a shirt. He rummaged again and brought out a larger packet. This was trousers. Made of much the same material as the shirt, just a bit thicker. Again it looked like they must fit. He took off the tunic he was wearing and put it with the trousers. He could do with a change of clothes as he had had these forever. He put the clothes on the box after first closing it.

He found another box, like before he found he could open it with ease. Inside this were shoes ,sandals and boots. Eli picked up a pair of the boots. They were dark brown and felt like a type of suede but it felt artificial. They were flat like his sneakers. Maybe they would come in useful. He added them to the pile of clothes. He could have a shower and put these on whilst he figured out how to wash his own. This trip was turning out better than he thought

Eli approached another box. This again had a simple mechanism which opened simply and the lid again lifted silently. In this one were packets of something he couldn't identify. He put some of them in his pocket. He needed to translate what was in them. He'd find out when he got back to the bridge. He wondered if they were food. He might need that if his supplies ran out.

Eli virtually ran to the next box. This had a different mechanism. One you had to turn. Slowly Eli turned the dial, then it split open and the box lid began to lift. He peeked inside wondering what he might have found. Bingo! This was more like it. It was a weapon of some sort but nothing like he had ever seen before. He picked one up very gingerly. He didn't want it to go off. It was obviously hand held, you could tell that from the design and although it was small it was quite heavy. Eli looked at the various dials and decided it need more investigation. It might not even be a weapon.

At that point Eli decided he'd done enough for today. He picked up his pile of belongings and took them back with him. He closed the door behind him as he went and looked up the corridor to where he needed to retrace his route. Although the lights were dim and leading him the way he came, he still sent the Keno ahead of him to check for any hazards. Again the dust swelled as he walked up the corridor and he looked down to see his footprints and then stopped. It looked like there were three sets of footprints. There should have only been two. The one coming here and one going back. A breeze from the air purifiers blew down the corridor and when Eli looked again, all the footprints had gone. He must be really tired he thought to himself. He'd only been on his own a couple of days and he was seeing things. He decided a good sonic shower was in order and he could wear his new clothes. That would cheer him up and then he could concentrate on the problem at hand. He needed to think about how to conserve power and then to fix the life pod as well as maybe finding a way to keep the Nakai from finding them when they came out of FTL in the next galaxy.

Eli decided on a shower before dinner. Then after he would go and crunch some more numbers and work his way through the hand book for the pod. He'd already set a programme that was a diagnostic looking from the handbook to the broken pod and seeing what could be done.

As Eli stood in the shower he thought back to the last visit to his Mom. He'd felt like he was letting her down and abandoning her. Yet surprisingly she was the opposite. She'd asked if he was happy and he had replied even though he had been through some terrible things yes he was happy. He wondered if he hadn't flunked college or if he hadn't been a games nerd, would things have been better. But his mom put him right on this too. She was amazed at the wondrous things he had seen and done, things he couldn't have done on Earth. She was happy to let him go. Yes it might be three years before she saw him again but at least he was doing what he should be doing and she was happy for him.

He came out of the shower and put on his new clothes. They weren't half bad actually and they looked rather suave and stylish. They were really comfy too. The boots were the last things to try. He put them against his own shoes for fit and it seemed he had guessed right. The minute they were on they felt like comfortable slippers . He wriggled his toes. Yes this was the new me for a bit he thought. His stomach growled and realised he hadn't eaten and made his way to the guest hall.

"I think I will open some tins tonight" Eli said out loud. He picked up a tin and scanned the label. It looked like some sort of sausage. Yes that would do and next he picked up some of the unnamed veggies. He got himself a plate and opened the can and dug out the sausages which were in some sort of juice and then put them on his plate. Then his veggies then he took it to the table to eat. He remembered again back to the time that he'd eaten here with his comrades, no not comrades, family. That's what Colonel Young had called them all, in his last toast. The one before all the handshakes and hugs. The one before everyone but himself were put into stasis.

He needed to concentrate on the job in hand. He made his way up to the main bridge the one that Rush had kept secret for so long. Eli still remembered how he had screamed at Rush when he found out he had kept it secret. But then that was typical Rush. He had his own agenda, the one he told no one about. He sat himself down at the main console and again pulled up his programme so far there was no progress. It was still doing a diagnostic search and so far there wasn't a fault that could be found. It must be one so small but yet so important. Or maybe a small part that had failed. Another thing so significant that no one had thought about it. Maybe after so long of not being used it just didn't want to work.

Eli pulled up the schematics again and looked at the handbook on the other console. So far he couldn't find anything. This wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought it would be. He decided it might be a good idea to actually go down to the pods and see for himself. He transferred the schematics down to the control interface at the life pods an made his way down. Franklins door was open again ! He was sure he'd closed it. Maybe there was a glitch in the system somewhere. He took a look inside and walked around to make sure everything was ok to himself more than anything. Nothing seemed to have moved. Eli took another look round and then saw it. On the window. It looked like a drawing of some kind. He went to the window and took a closer look. It was similar to the schematics he was searching through. So many squiggles and curled lines. Interfaces with other parts of the ship. Layer up on layer. It must be a trick of the light. Eli left the room and closed the door and made his way to the pods. This was really eerie. The lights were low and there was hardly any sound apart from his own footfalls. People stood in various poses, alive but not alive suspended in time. He approached the colonel and looked into the pod. He still looked like a leader even asleep, but care worn and tired.

Eli made his way to the pod that was to be his in a few days. Three weeks had seemed like a long time but on reflection it wasn't and Eli thought about the consequences if he didn't get it right. Then in the corner of his eye he saw someone walking around the corner. He chased after them, "Hey! Hey!" shouted Eli. "Wait! Don't run off !". he rounded the next corner but there was no one there. Then he saw the puff of dust and chased after it. There was still no one there. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. There was someone there and they were watching him. What if it was Rush? Eli made his way back to the last eight pods and looked across from the colonel. Rush was still there in his pod and he hadn't moved. What was going on ? There was definitely something going on and he was really wierded out by it all. But there was work to be done. Eli approached the interface console and brought up the schematics. He studied it for a few moments and then went to the pod. The one that was to be his very soon. He typed on the pods console and waited while it did its work. There was a beep. No that wasn't right. It was saying he had no access. If he didn't have access then he wasn't going to have a pod and he wasn't going home ever again. He typed something else into the interface. This time, it was accepted and he read what the interface told him. All the hardware that could be replaced was replaced and it should work. It really must be a software problem. That meant looking at lots of machine commands, lots of reading, lots of late nights. He sat the pod off on a diagnostic mode and was about to make his way to the bridge when something caught his eye. The plan it brought up was the one that was drawn on the window in Franklins room. The one on the window. Eli rushed almost ran to Franklins room. It was still there. He brought the same plan on his console and made the same markings appear on his console using his finger. He noticed there was just a slight difference but he could read it.

He ran onto the bridge and brought up the schematics. Whoa! There were the same marks. They were highlighted, where he had to look. But he hadn't made them. Something was definitely going on here and he didn't like it. He made a copy of the schematics and put it on his hand held. He was tired, really tired. He needed to rest to sleep on it. He would tackle this tomorrow. His head would be clearer. He made his way to where his bed was on the observation deck and lay down. Sleep claimed him in moments. As he slept a figure put its head to the window of the door as if to check on Eli and then was gone


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Eli woke up refreshed and ready to start a new day. There was still a lot of work to be done. So far he had only scratched the surface. The ancient language he mostly understood but every now and again there was something he didn't understand and he input something he shouldn't another glitch would come up and he had to go back to square one and repeat the process he had begun hours earlier. That was frustrating. The other problem he had was the algorithms . Maths wasn't his forte. Yes he had gone further than a lot of people understanding the complicated math needed to pilot Destiny but he didn't have the deep understanding that Rush and Chloe had.

Time was of the essence too. He had been at this task for almost a week and feeling that he was running out of time. The days ran quickly and soon turned into the night were he had to rest and sleep. He did notice he wasn't sleeping as much but he felt well rested when he got up and his days were long. He was working between the bridge and the life pods having to input information and then checking the pod to see if what he had done had actually worked. But it was a routine he had established and it worked well. Another day had dawned it was time to get to work. Eli rose and another day had begun.

Eli made his way to the mess hall and chose another of the canned goods. As there were no labels every meal was a surprise. As he opened the can he thought of Sergeant Greer.

Every time they found a new food on a planet the first words out of his mouth were "Is it something we can barbeque?"

Eli smiled at the memory. The crew of this ship certainly were a mixed bunch. Some people were more open than others. Some you could get on with, others were a closed book, some talked, some didn't and there were others who had hidden agendas. But there had been good camaraderie. After all they were all in the same boat or should he say ship. Eli had to admit he was lonely. He missed Chloe's company and the conversations they had. She was a real friend. He sometimes found himself turning to say something and realising he was alone and it was his memories he was talking to. Then there was Ginn. Ginn that he had to quarantine to a lonely existence. He wondered did she mark time like we did, now she was a programme, one of many, in Destiny's systems? He knew some day he could take her out of quarantine and see and talk to her but never touch her again. He loved her so much and she had tragically been torn away from him by that sadistic murderer Simeon. He had strangled in in some warped belief that her loyalty to Destiny was wrong and he took it upon himself to meter out justice. Poor innocent Ginn, her only crime was wanting to help Destiny and her crew. Thinking of her saddened him greatly but he knew he didn't have time for this now. He had work to do.

Eli finished his meal. He ate out of the cans, it saved washing up, and placed the can in the neat pile with the others. They were building up now and it showed just how long he had been trying to complete his task and how little time he had left. He had been at his task for almost a week.

Eli stretched and made his way to the bridge. It was still eerie walking through the ship alone. He pressed the consoles to open the doors to each corridor and he heard them close noisily behind him. The noise carried further through the ship because it was so empty and desolate. He walked passed Franklins room and again the door was open. It must be a software problem with the door. But he didn't have time now to look at it but it was getting on his nerves. He walked into the room and again saw patterns on the window. The same intricate patterns that formed the pathway for circuitry and software for Destiny. How weird it should appear here. Eli dismissed it as a coincidence and began to walk out of the room at which point the doors closed. Eli pushed the console to open the door. Nothing. Now this really was starting to get to him. Maybe he should have looked at the mechanism to see what was going on. He tried it again. Nothing. Frustrated Eli began pacing the room shoving his fingers through his hair. This just wasn't happening. His day had begun so well and this isn't what he needed right now. Eli tried the control again. Nothing. Then in frustration he threw himself at the door. Nothing except for a sore shoulder which he rubbed.

" For crying out loud what do you want from me? Aaaarg!" Eli shouted in frustration. He paced the room once more and noticed a piece of paper blowing across the floor. Curious he bent down and picked it up. It looked like one of the pages from Rush's note books. He looked at both sides but nothing seemed to be familiar. He put it in his pocket anyway

and then turned towards the door which now opened with no problem. Eli ran out of the room not willing to be trapped again. He pressed the console and the door closed. He pressed it again and it opened. He pressed it several times and the door obediently opened and closed. This place was getting weirder by the minute. He definitely had been on his own too long. How long had it been now? A week at most. He was running out of time and he needed to get a move on.

He entered the bridge which was his favourite place to work. He could see the ever changing kaleidoscope of FTL travel. It still amazed him no matter how many times he saw it. He sat down at his favourite console and brought up the schematics again for the pod. He had figured out the basic workings but it was still a mystery how it was connected to so many things on Destiny. He knew it was going to be complicated but he hadn't realised just how complicated it was going to be. He would change one system and thought he solved the problem, only to find it affected another system so then he had to either start again or fix the new glitch that had formed. It was worse than a Chinese puzzle and much harder than the games he worked on at home. The math was another problem. Luckily Destiny's systems helped out for the most part but sometimes it was down to some good old fashioned math that needed to be worked out by hand. That took time and sometimes it made his brain hurt.

Eli began working on this mornings problem. The time passed with numbers being punched in. Results analysed and then another set of working out being inputted to the console. He often sent across some working out to the hand held console at which point Eli made his way down to the life pods to input something into the system to check some thing out.

He had a busy day. He had had to take out some of the main consoles in the broken life pod and work at replacing parts that were old and decayed. It was an amazing piece of tech and as he worked he referred back to his hand held and then go back to the bridge or the life pod and input some information. Replace other parts and repeat the whole process again. Then recheck the system. Some times it didn't go plan and something else would stop working, then it was back to square one. The whole process had to be re done and then re run to check the system was now working. He spent his days working between the bridge and the life pod and he seemed to be making headway. Sometimes it was slow and laborious other times he solved things quickly.

He was working on one console that was particularly awkward and difficult and fiddly. He had had to replace parts but before doing that he had to find these parts. He had to source them and then find them, sometimes salvaging them from existing consoles. It could be frustrating.

Today he was working on a particularly complicated problem. Apart from a software issue he needed parts. The ship told him where he could find the parts and off he went around the ship to find it. It was like shopping but not like on earth and Eli smiled at the thought of this. As before he went to decks where not many people had been if ever and dust motes flew up from his booted feet, as he made his way to his destination. He occasionally looked through room door windows to see what was in there. Some were more rooms for sleeping, others contained boxes like the one he found his clothes in. He would have to make sure he told everyone about them when they awoke. That was a daunting thought, it was when, not if. He was being positive about this. He was going to get this done and then he could sleep. Sleep. He was working so hard he hadn't realised how tired he was, until he actually stopped. He'd even missed a few meals because his task was so engrossing.

As he travelled the ship, he came upon the wall that Rush was working on. He looked at the complicated equations and remembered the piece of the notebook he had in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it and then realised that some of the equations on the wall matched the notes. He held up the piece of paper against some of the equations on the wall and found he had a match. Then a dawning of realisation appeared on his face and he pulled up his hand held and clicked a few switches and saw that the equation he was having so much difficulty with was there in front of him! He quickly copied the equation down a n turned to run back to the bridge before realising that he'd come down here for a part. He made a quick u turn and rushed to where his original destination had been. He rushed all the way there and then spent a precious 15 minutes removing the parts he needed from a redundant console. He quickly placed these items in the bag he had brought with him and raced back to the bridge.

He punched open the door to the bridge and sat at his console. He opened his console and then read what was there. Then he began to enter the information into the software programme he had been writing. Yes! It worked finally he could see he was making more head way. Then picking up his tools and the priceless parts he needed and made his way to the life pod.

He entered the room with the life pods in and looked at everyone there. Soon he would take his place there, with everyone else. He looked at Colonel Young and saw how tired he looked. He had taken on a lot of responsibility an had to make some very hard decisions. Then he looked at Lieutenant Johansen. She had saved many lives and he felt sorry for her knowing that unless some cure could be found when they awoke, she would have to left to sleep for a while longer or die from a deadly neuron disease, that would first rob her of her ability to hold the instruments she relied on to help people, then rob her of the ability to talk and finally take her life. He saw Chloe, dear Chloe who had endured so much, not long now, he thought. Finally he glanced at Rush. The man who had nearly ended the lives of everyone here. The man who was so egotistical he had his own agenda that daily endangered the lives. The man that found the bridge but took it upon himself to keep it a secret, whilst he learned how to control Destiny for his own ends. Could he be trusted when everyone awoke. Had he really changed enough to be trusted? Would he have learned enough to trust others? There was still a lot to be done when everyone awoke.

Eli set to work on the pod. He removed a few of the panels and began to systematically remove the damaged parts, referring to his hand held every so often. This was how he worked for the rest of the day. Finally he replaced the last part and stood back to look at his handy work. He hadn't been much of a hands on person. He wasn't into building things. Well he had built his computer tower at home but that was very straight forward. He had all the schematics and it was a simple step by step process. Complicated in places but straight forward.

He broad grin broke across his face.

"Well done you!" He congratulated himself. "That was a job well done if I must say so myself!"

He patted the life pod and then went over to the main console.

"Fingers crossed". He initiated the programme to reboot the systems on the life pod and waited. Slowly lights began to blink on the console. Then the screen on the console began to fill with information about the pod. Just like a start up on a computer, the start up menu began to list systems and check them as they rebooted. One by one a whole list emerged and began to run quickly across the screen. Without realising it Eli held his breath. This had to work. He only had days left and the power still posed a problem. He needed to work out a way to conserve as much energy as possible while still feeding the life pods and make sure fail safes where I place. The writing on the screen stopped. Yes! It was working. He pushed a button and the canopy closed and the systems began the sleeping process. Yes! He was going home!. He'd done it! The canopy opened and the system reset itself ready to be used.

He was going home.

This was a time to celebrate! He made his way to the mess hall.

"What delicacies shall I imbibe today?" Eli said in a posh voice.

Eli went to his collection of cans. As he picked up one can and then another he said

"Would Sir like pate de fois gras or maybe the caviar or would sir like something else from the menu?"

Eli chose a tin from the collection.

"I think I would like this"

And again playing the part of the waiter Eli replied,

"What a good choice sir!"

Eli quickly opened the tin to reveal some fruit of some kind. He chose another tin and this when opened revealed a vegetable of some sort. Great, he had dinner and desert. He poured himself some water and set it on the table next to his meal.

"Dinner is served Sir"

Eli took his place at the table and began to eat his celebratory meal. He ate with gusto enjoying every morsel making noises of pleasure as he ate. He picked up his cup and toasted his imaginary friends at the table. Chloe, Scott, Greer, Lieutenant Johansen, Colonel Young, Ginn, Rush, Camille Wray. He looked around the table with tears in his eyes. He hadn't realised how long and hard he had worked and realised he would soon be joining them once more and becoming part of their story. What a story he had to tell them. There was so much to found on the ship. Clothes for one. Every one needed new clothes. He missed their company and the camaraderie. The shared jokes and ribbing. The new adventures that hadn't yet taken place. He though of how everyone had grown and changed on this voyage. Some had managed the change well. Others hadn't. He remembered the people they had lost along the way. A lot of them tragically. Then he remembered Ginn. He still grieved over her passing and how he had lost her twice.

He got up from the table and made his way to the observation deck that had now become his room. He stood by the railings and looked into space. Just a few more days and then he would sleep. He still wondered would he feel time pass when he was sleeping? Or would he awake not realising time had passed? Did you dream? Probably not. He looked into the distance feeling happy. A smile played across his face once more. The end was in sight he only had a couple of days more. A puzzled look crossed his face and he looked behind him, he was sure he heard something. The hairs on the back of his neck raised and he felt like he wasn't alone. But that was baloney. He was on his own. He looked back into the distance once more as dust swirled by the observation deck door. He turned then and decided it was sleep he needed. He got into his bed and lay there looking at the expanse of space in front of him and his eyes drooped and closed.

The ship continued on its way through space. An unknown figure rounded the corner and was gone from sight.


	5. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There were alarms blaring and Eli sat straight up in his bed. What was going on? There must be something glaringly wrong. Eli ran into the corridor. People were running everywhere.

There were alarms still blaring! People running all around him. But Eli stood in the middle of the corridor unsure of what to do. There was the sound of an explosion and Eli shook himself and ran to the interface control. Rush was there.

"About time Eli! We called you and there was no response! Tie down the damage and seal off the doors on that deck!" shouted Rush as he pushed buttons and checked read outs.

"Well come on lad!" He shouted again.

Eli just stood there and watched fascinated as people continued to run around him. He turned to the console and began to seal off the damaged areas.

"We need to rotate the shields or we're doomed!" Rush said to no one in particular.

"Oh I can do that!" Answered Eli

"Since when!" Retorted Rush. Eli stopped. That was it! That was the answer to his problem. He had to figure how to rotate the shield.

That would help keep the Nakai and everyone else off their backs. At least for a while. Why hadn't he thought of it!

Eli woke up suddenly and sat straight up! What was going on! All the people had gone and he was alone once more. There were no alarms, it was deadly silent. It took him a minute to realise where he was. What was that all about ? Shield modulators and rotating the shield. That was it, he had to modulate the field variance. Why hadn't he thought of that! Eli threw off his bedclothes and ran to the control interface room. He opened up a couple of screens and began to work on the problem. There was the lack of power to overcome for full shields but maybe he could modulate it in sections. That would work.

Eli really thought this was it. He was on the home stretch at last. He input a programme he had been working on what seemed months ago, when in reality it had only been days and waited for the answers to reveal themselves. Various problems arose and Eli worked all day to solve them. He was becoming frustrated and annoyed. It was taking too long and every time he turned a corner another problem rose its ugly head. In exasperation Eli hammered the desk before walking away. He really thought he had solved this problem. He really thought it was going to be easy. How wrong could someone be? He marched around the interface room not knowing what to do. He ran his fingers through his hair. He had been so sure of himself and now time was running out.

He walked to the observation deck in angry strides and threw himself on the bench. He had failed. This was the end. He couldn't save the ship or his shipmates. The enemy had won. He was doomed. Why should he have thought he could save the Destiny and its crew? Rush was right. He was young and too immature and didn't know enough. Eli stared into the vastness of space. Despondent he rubbed his face. Better to face up to reality while he still could. He felt a breeze blow at the back of his head. He shook his head unsure of where it had come from. It blew again. Then he heard it.

"Eli" whispered a very faint voice "Eli"

Eli looked up. He was sure he heard someone call his name. Maybe he was hearing things. He felt another small puff of wind. Where was that coming from? He shook his head. He was so tired, but the day had only just started. He decided he had been on his own for far too long.

He stepped cautiously into the corridor. All was silent except for the hum of the ship. He couldn't see or hear anything different from before. He decided to make his way to the bridge. Maybe there was something there that would distract him and at least he could see his favourite view and sit in his favourite chair. He saw swirls of dust as he walked and wondered why he'd never seen them before. But he carried on walking. He reached Franklins quarters. The door was open again! Eli swore his first job when he woke up would be to fix that door. It was driving him mad. He was about to close the door when he noticed the pattern on the window again. He walked over to take a closer look. It looked so like the software plans for Destiny. But that couldn't be. He took another look and left the room shaking his head. Closing the door behind him and he entered the bridge.

He looked around the bridge as if this would be his last time. He wanted to take everything in. He might never see it again. He pulled up his programme and took another look at it. He could modulate the shields no problem but it was the power. He couldn't supply enough power to the shields and the pods as well. And what if it drained all the power, which it would. Then what? He looked at the math again. Math wasn't his strong point. There was something that he was missing. No something that he had overlooked. He had been so frustrated all day. He needed to walk the frustration out. He walked the corridors and found himself at Rush's wall of equations. He looked along the wall working through the equations. One was for power usage, he recognised some of the symbols but it hadn't been completed and there was another where he had looked at the wall before. What was Rush working on with Chloe? It was something to do with the ships systems but he didn't understand the math. He could read some of it but not enough to understand it. He felt like he was going around in circles and he began to feel as frustrated as before.

Eli felt like he had wasted the best part of the day and getting nowhere. Yes he'd managed to modulate the shields that was straight forward but the power needed was something different. He couldn't just take the power from anywhere. Any important systems would simply shut down leaving the ship open to attack.

"Aaaaargh"

This was getting him nowhere !

Tears of frustration clouded his vision and he angrily dashed them away. He stormed up and down the corridor . The equations that Rush had scrawled on the walls began to run into one another. He remembered looking in Rushes notebook once and couldn't make any sense of it. Numbers and symbols rushed around his head, it was too much, just too much! Eli ran down the corridor, blindly turning corners, knocking into walls, pushing door panels impatiently when they wouldn't open fast enough.

Eli eventually Eli stopped and found himself in the observation deck. The deck that had become his home for what seemed like eternity. He threw himself down on the bench and put his head in his hands and cried.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry " He repeated over and over again. He felt like he had let so many people down. People that he had now possibly doomed to die. Why had he thought he could accomplish so much!

Eli stood up and stood at the barrier, he looked into the far distance, at the expanse of space in front of him. How could it go so wrong? He took a shuddering breath and began to calm down. He was over thinking the problem and he was overtired.

Eli felt totally drained. Too tired to eat. He needed sleep. With heavy steps he headed towards his bed and with what seemed like a great effort he lay there and covered himself up. He didn't even take his boots off so great was the exhaustion. Within seconds his eye lids closed. Still clasped in his hand was the hand held console that had become his second best friend, hardly leaving his hands. Sleep claimed him.

The ship was again quiet. It made its way through space to some destination that was undetermined yet.

But there was something else. Another presence that could be felt not heard. It was watchful and observant, taking everything in. At the open doorway a shadow moved away kicking up dust.


	6. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Eli's sleep was fitful. He tossed and turned. Even in sleep he couldn't rest from the problem which now assaulted him night and day. In his dream he was wandering the ship. It was empty and cold. At first he could find no one and then like ghosts they appeared. Everyone he met just walked past him and ignored him. He called after Colonel Young …no response. When he tried to touch him his hand went straight through him. Was he the ghost or where they? Was he doomed to run a ghost ship until the day he died? In a complete panic he ran through the ship. Not one person acknowledged him. He tried time and time again to get a response from somebody…anybody. In the end Eli gave up and slumped against one of the walls, in a corridor he didn't know. He put his head in his hands and cried. Cried like a baby. It was all too much.

Eli eyes fluttered open. He put his hand up to his face and found fresh tears. Oh Lord no, this couldn't be happening now. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams. He felt exhausted. Bone weary and tired. He looked at his hand held. He'd only been asleep for a couple of hours. Surely he had slept longer than that? He turned over in bed determined to get some sleep. He tossed and turned for a while but eventually he closed his eyes and slowly sleep claimed him.

"Eli! Eli! Wake up! We don't have much time! Eli!"

Eli was sure that was the voice of Colonel Young. But it couldn't be. He was asleep with the others. He was dreaming again. So Eli turned over to go back to sleep. He was tired, all he wanted was a little sleep. Eli put his hands over his ears.

"Eli!" Pleaded Colonel Young. "We don't have much time!"

This time Eli opened his eyes.

"Colonel! What are you doing here?" Said Eli, with no enthusiasm at all.

"Look Eli, all I know is I don't think we have much time. Come on Eli, rise and shine. I think there's a lot you have to tell me"

Unwillingly, Eli rose from his bed. Bewildered he followed the Colonel down the corridor to the mess. As he wandered in the Colonel was pouring him a hot drink and then he proceeded to open a can and plate it up. Still none the wiser, Eli sat down.

" You not having any?" asked Eli

"I'm not hungry, you go ahead eat" replied Colonel Young

"Not hungry?" Eli asked. Still astounded and still being wary at this turn of events.

"What's with the clothes?" replied a puzzled Colonel.

"Ooo I went on a scavenger hunt and found these amazing clothes. Boxes of them and they're so comfortable. Mine were wearing out and I love these so I put them on. We really need to do a thorough search of the ship Colonel. There's just so much we haven't found" said a more excited Eli.

"Right. Come on. There's work to be done. You can tell me as we walk the ship" replied the Colonel.

The two of then exited the Mess and made their way to the bridge. Eli was more animated as he explained all he had found and all he had done in the last few days. He even admitted to the Colonel how bad he felt because he was at an impasse and couldn't see a way out. They were passing Franklins quarters and Eli saw that once again the door was open.

"Do you know the first job I'm going to do when we all wake up is fix that door! Its always opened" exclaimed Eli.

"I thought we had these quarters sealed?" Colonel Young stated.

"We did. But every morning when I make my way here the doors are always opened. I've had a look round and cant find anything wrong or out of place" replied Eli.

"That's very odd" said Young.

"Don't I know it and creepy too." said a baffled Eli.

The Colonel proceeded into the room and began looking round.

"There's nothing to find, I've looked" said Eli.

"No harm in a second pair of eyes looking Eli" replied the Colonel.

He looked around the room and stopped at the window.

"What's this?" He asked pointing at the window " I've not seen anything like this anywhere else on the ship"

"Oh that, I think its just a seal that needs replacing or something" Eli replied.

"It looks really unusual don't you think?" questioned Colonel Young.

"If you say so" said an unconvinced Eli.

He Colonel again began walking round the room. He stopped at one of the cupboards which was partially opened.

"Have you looked in here?" Inquired Young.

"No. I didn't want to touch anything. It doesn't belong to me. That's someone else's things I didn't want to touch them really" replied Eli

"Well lets have a look shall we"

The Colonel pulled open the door. Inside it was bare except for a notebook. The Colonel picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Then he opened it.

"This belongs to Rush. I think its his notebook" The Colonel noted.

"It cant be!" replied an astonished Eli. "I found the notebook and left it on the bridge"

"Well you tell me, is it or isn't it?" replied the Colonel. Eli took the notebook from the Colonel.

"Its Rush's alright!" exclaimed Eli

With that he rushed out of the room and onto the bridge. The place where he had left the notebook was empty. This was weird…really weird. Eli even looked round and was still looking round as The Colonel entered the bridge.

"There have been some really strange goings on , on this ship" explained Eli to the Colonel.

"I've had really weird dreams, I swear I'm not alone, that door keeps opening, you appear and now this"

With that Eli threw himself into a seat. He stroked his face with his hand and then screwed his eyes shut.

"Be gone!" He said in a loud voice.

He opened one eye and saw a very bemused Colonel Young looking back at him.

"You're still here" Eli said

"Errm yes I'm still here. I'm not something out of a horror film you just send away. Be gone?"

"Well I couldn't think of anything more original" replied Eli

"Look I'm not one of your game characters. I'm here to help you" stated Colonel Young.

"OK, Ok" said a relenting Eli "Where do you want to start?"

"How about at the beginning" volunteered Colonel Young.

The rest of that morning was taken up by Eli showing Colonel Young what he had learned about the ship. He took him on the guided tour of the new rooms that held a plethora of items useful to all. He explained all the new things he had discovered about the ship and how intertwined the systems were and how sensitive Destiny was to the galaxy around them.

This was the animated Eli, the Eli the Colonel knew would save them. On and on Eli explained system after system till finally exhausted Eli stopped and looked at the Colonel.

"So this is where I am now. I have found a way to modulate the shields so in theory we become invisible, to the Nakai, to everyone. But there isn't enough power and we still need power" Eli stated wearily. "There's no margin for error as it is and if the shields come on line we're lost. It will all be for nothing"

"So basically we just need power" Colonel Young answered "Simple as"

"I just wish it was that simple" answered Eli.

"What if it was?" questioned Young.

"What?" asked a bemused Eli.

"What if it was that simple" replied Young. "Maybe you're over thinking the problem, what is there we need to do?"

"Well first there's the fact that we need to travel through a star. To do that we need to drop from FTL. But we cant because the Nakai are waiting for us. We don't have the power to operate the shields and sustain the pods. I managed to mend the broken pod by salvaging parts. The energy we have now is what we need to jump" Eli explained.

"Can you hear yourself Eli. You are so sure of yourself, you know what we need to do to survive and I know you can do this. You said it yourself you are cleverer than Rush. Lets see what we can do instead of what we cant" Pleaded Young. "Is there anyway we can come out of FTL travel through a star and avoid the Nakai?"

"And keep everyone alive in the pods" noted Eli.

"Well is there?" Questioned Young.

Something nagged at the back of Elis mind. Something important that wouldn't go away. But wouldn't reveal itself. Eli paced up and down. There was something he had seen in the last couple of days. Something he might have read maybe. But there was something.

"I need to think… there's something. I know there is. I just cant put my finger on it. Its something I saw in Rushes notes and on that dammed wall of his. But its just so complicated!" said Eli exasperated.

"Ok then, our next port of call is Rush's wall. Come on Eli" said Colonel Young as he exited the room.

Eli quickly followed. Still bewildered.

"I've gone over and over his calculations but some of them I cant even follow, never mind understand" said Eli as he made his way to the wall with Colonel Young "And some of them are just gibberish"

"We'll see when we get there. There might be something your missing because it looks familiar and maybe it needs a detailed eye or simply another look. Its so easy to overlook something that's just in front of you. Maybe a military eye might help but God knows I cant even read what Rush has written, but you can Eli. Give it another chance" pleaded the Colonel.

"Ok" replied Eli "I'll give it another go. But only because you asked me to"

Almost sulkily Eli followed the Colonel until he came to the corridor that Rush had chosen to be his 'wall'. They both began to look at the calculations. The Colonel only understanding a little.

"Come on Eli, explain some of this to me. I have a smattering of Ancient, you have a whole lot more" stated the Colonel.

"Ok this part here was where Rush originally looked at the FTL jump. Down here is the FTL energy consumption and here are the variables you need to remember. The ship did the rest. Rush just put in the parameters, when he worked them out" said Eli.

"Alright, carry on with that thought, that's almost the problem we have. In a nutshell, we have to remember all the parameters and work from there and let the ship help us work the rest out. Am I right?" asked the Colonel.

"Well put very simply … Yes" replied Eli.

"Well, what are you waiting?" for asked the Colonel "Lets start looking for the formulas that are similar to what we need and work from there"

He bent down and picked up a discarded piece of chalk that had been left.

"You'll need this as well. It will help to see what you're doing and it means you can erase as you need to."

Eli took the chalk and again began going through the formulas and calculations Rush had written on the walls. Some were straight forward others much harder. He went for Rush's wall to his own, writing and erasing as he went. Sometimes putting calculations on his handheld while he worked parts of the equations out. Colonel Young made himself comfortable on the floor and watched Eli as he worked almost feverishly on the wall he was creating. Sometimes Eli grumbled and growled as a particular equation didn't work. He typed things into his handheld as he went. He copied part equations onto his wall and finished what had been partially completed. Minute after minute, hour after hour Eli worked until at last he was exhausted and sat next to the Colonel.

"Well that's all the calculations I need. Now I have to make them into a useable programme"

Said Eli, clearly tired. He ran his hands over his face to try and wake himself up some more.

"Well we've spent most of the day on this. What's the next step?" asked the Colonel.

"Now I have transfer it to Destiny's computers and see what she makes of it and see what is usable and what is utter rubbish. I'm not sure I'm doing this right, it could all be a waste of time" Eli spouted "I'm tired, I need to rest"

"Come on then. You've done well today. Get yourself some rest. You still have a few days to work this out. It's no good exhausting yourself. You make mistakes that way" Young pointed out.

The pair of them got themselves off the floor and slowly made their way back to the observation deck that had become Eli's bedroom. When they got there Eli sat heavily on the bench and yawned loudly.

"Get yourself some sleep Eli, tomorrows another day" said the Colonel.

Wearily Eli made his way to his bed and crawled under the covers as before, fully clothed still with his boots on and his hand held in his hand. He clumsily pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes. Sleep, he needed sleep. Soon he could no longer hear Destiny's engines as sleep overtook him. Nor did he see the motes of dust as Colonel Young left the deck, leaving Eli to sleep alone.


	7. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Eli turned over in his sleep. Slowly his eyes flicked open and he quickly sat up. How long had he been asleep. He quickly looked at his hand held… ten hours! Ten hours!

He quickly made his way to the mess and suddenly realised he was on his own. A dream another stupid dream! How much more could he take. But he had to make sure and he made his way to Rush's corridor, on the way he picked up a piece of chalk that seemed to just appear in front of him. This Ship was weird. More than weird he thought to himself. He thought back to the many hours he'd played on his computer at home on various games, this one beat them all. Finally he approached the door. He had made it there in double quick time and he was slightly out of breath. Eli centred himself and pushed the control to open the door and then screwed his eyes tight shut. The door opened and slowly he opened one eye and then the other. He looked into the room and then he erupted!

"wooooooo! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Eli screamed "I did it! I did it!"

He spun round in circles and looked eagerly at the walls taking in all the information that was there. It was as if he was dancing some ancient dance. Round and round he went whooping.

"I did it! I did it!" He repeated over and over again. Finally he sat on the floor totally spent. Breathless he took a look around the corridor in wonderment. Then after a few moments picked himself up. There was still a lot of work to do but the hard part was over. He had the numbers, now it was up to Destiny to sort them out. He brushed his hands together and decided to make his way to the bridge. He began to make his way to the bridge when his stomach growled noisily at him. He'd forgotten to eat and his stomach protested.

"Ok. Ok. I'll feed you first. A good breakfast starts the day. At least that's what they say" Stated a really cheerful Eli and he made his way to the mess. He quickly opened a tin and ate hungrily and quickly. There was no time to waste today he had a lot of work still to do.

Eventually he made his way to the bridge and slowly began copying formulas into Destiny's computer. He double checked everything to make sure he didn't get anything wrong and as the morning wore on, he visited Rush's corridor a couple of times to make sure that the formula he was inputting was correct. He beavered away minute after minute, hour after hour. The concentration was etched into his face. Finally he stretched and leant back from the screen satisfied that he had done a good job. He cracked his stiff fingers and hoped what he had done, was complete. Time was now running out and he only had a couple of days to complete his task and join the others. They would still need to jump through this galaxy. He wouldn't be able to keep the Nakai off their backs forever. He worried about that as he looked through the bridge window as space passed them creating amazing images and patterns.

Eli decided there was nothing else he could accomplish today and then began thinking about the experience of the day before. Was the Colonel really there? Had he been sleep walking? This ship was so surreal, that sometimes reality and dreams merged, at least that was his experience, so could that explain what happened the day before. But it had been so real. He wondered to himself, am I going mad? Is this what's like to go slowly crazy?

But then he thought to himself no. This ship was so interconnected to everyone that was aboard, it went to amazing lengths to try and show the way to those who were lost. What an amazing ship, something that human kind couldn't build in a million years. He thought about what these people were like as people. Were they like us he wondered? What would they make of us now he thought? Would we even like them? Surely they were so advanced that we would seem like some primitive tribe, almost like children to them. He thought so much his head hurt. There was nothing more that he could do today. He needed to head back and maybe have an early night. He needed the sleep. Eli left the bridge and began walking back. Then he looked around him.

Eli found himself walking down the corridor to the life pods. He didn't even remember walking this way. He stopped himself and found that he had came to the door to where Colonel Young was. He tapped the door control and the lights flicked on. He made his way slowly towards the Colonels pod and stood and looked. He looked the same as when he left him. His eyes were closed. He looked worn down by the responsibilities he had endured. It had been hard on the Colonel. This wasn't what he had signed up for, he was sure of that. Yet he took it on his shoulders and managed as best he could. He hadn't always made the right decisions but he was there to support anybody that needed him. Who supported him? Eli pondered on this. He knew lieutenant Johanson had something going on. That was on Earth. Here things had been different.

"Were you there Colonel?" he asked the sleeping Colonel " I was really glad of your help yesterday. I couldn't have done it with out you. Its all in the hands of Destiny now. We might be able to make one stop, just the one. But that's all were going to need. Just one. I hope we make it Colonel. I'll be with you soon. We'll share the same fate, just like we've done a million times before. And I'm ready to sleep. I'm so tired Colonel."

A silent tear slowly rolled down Eli's face. He was so tired emotionally, physically, bodily, mentally. To be able to sleep and not to worry. He rubbed away the tear and patted the Colonels pod.

"Soon" he said more to himself than to the Colonel.

Looking slightly stooped Eli left the life pods. The light went out as he left and as he walked down the corridor those lights also went out. But Eli didn't notice. He made his way to the observation lounge and sat down on the bench and looked through the window. He couldn't do with all this maudlin thinking. The last thing he needed now was to give up. A thought crossed his features and he got up and went to where all the Keno footage was displayed. He sorted through until he came to one of their adventures and watched a few of the recordings. Diary entries were his favourite because it gave you an incite into the real person. If they were too personal he turned them off. He found one of a celebration they had on board after discovering some food they could actually eat. That wasn't poisonous or had spines in or was so tough no one could eat it.

He could hear Greer in the back ground "Did anyone find anything we could barbeque?" He questioned one of the groups "What I wouldn't give for a juicy rump steak or even a burger. Its been that long I've forgotten what one is"

Eli chuckled to himself. Trust Greer to come up with that comment. He was always looking for some meat or other but the colonel wouldn't let him shoot anything! So a vegetarian diet it was, unless they met anybody who hunted and then they did eat. It didn't do their digestion any good though. He decided to go the mess hall and get himself something to eat. He hadn't eaten all day and found he was famished now that his mood had lightened.

Eli walked over to the tins and chose another to eat. He opened the tin and emptied the contents onto a plate, then sat down to eat. He took his time and didn't rush. He was getting to enjoy this diet, though he wouldn't miss it when he went back to normal food.

Soon he had finished and he made his way back to the observation lounge that had become his bedroom this past couple of days. He looked at the familiar vista and again contemplated how much his life had changed in such a short time. And how much he grown as a person.

He thought back to the time that 'Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill' with the two l's had approached him. How he had been brought up to the ship in space. It was so out of this world… Well it was out of this world! He thought back to how simple his life had been, so uncomplicated and boring… Yes boring! That's why he played so many of those computer games. He loved the challenge, the working of puzzles out, even talking to one of his best gamer mates and arguing over some really small points. How different his life was now. He was comfortable playing his games in his own little world. Now he was a million light years away, literally. Life wasn't a game anymore. His safe comfortable world now seemed like a life time away. If they got home could he cope? This world he was thrust into was just…just … well just him. He couldn't think back to his old self with any clarity. Every day had been the same routine. Life there didn't hold any challenges because everything was so easy for him to do. Well intellectually wise. Then there was his Mom. He kept her on an even keel. Made sure she took her meds. Kept her to a routine so she didn't fall into a deep depression. Life for her wasn't easy but so long as he had his computer he was fine. He communicated with people, used his webcam, didn't always meet them face to face, well hardly ever. He loved his computer. He was really proud of it and he had built it himself. No one but no one had one quite like his. Even other gamers commented, when they asked for his specs, how amazing it was. It was his pride and joy. Now he was here. This was his life and he couldn't imagine it any other way. He was quite proud that he cracked the code that Rush couldn't. That was one up for him!

He wondered if his Mom was ok. She seemed to be. She was really blown away when she had come aboard. She marvelled at what Eli had accomplished and it seemed to brighten her up. She was proud of what he had achieved and that made him feel good too. She knew where he was and as far as she was concerned he was safe. If only she knew.

Eli decided an early night was in order and he made his way to his bed. He pulled off his boots and pulled off his over shirt and climbed under the covers. His put on his hand held and looked at some more recordings on the small screen. He saw all his friends one by one and marvelled at how a rag tag collection of human beings could actually live together. The Lucian alliance hadn't helped things. To begin with they had been very hostile and then he had met Ginn. Oh Ginn! Sweet Ginn. The only girl who he had really got on with. She talked his language and thought of things at the same time as him. They were on the same wavelength. They worked so well together, although she had more expertise than him technically, he had some ideas she could help with. These systems were still new to him but Ginn had worked with this advanced tech', she helped him to learn more, advance further, in the blink of an eye. He loved Ginn and she had been snatched away by Simeon. Cruel, evil, Simeon. Why did people have to be like that, so twisted and cruel. To take some ones life in the misguided belief that it was the right thing to do. Well her body might be dead but her consciousness was now a computer programme within the ships systems. Yes he'd had to quarantine that, but he was determined to find an answer to that at some point. Some day he would be able to talk to her, be with her. A smile played on his lips as he thought about her. Ginn. The feel of her hand, the scent of her skin. He breathed in as he thought about her. The way she walked and joked with him. That smile that he loved. Eli shook his head. He was getting all maudlin again. That was no good.


	8. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Eli hurried down the various corridors towards the bridge, turning this way and that without looking where he was going, almost on auto pilot, he had circumnavigated these corridors so many times. He kicked up ancient dust as he went. Plumes of dust appeared as he scooted around corners. He opened doors and barely took notice of what was around him, till finally he reached the bridge. He did notice that dammed door to Franklins room was open again and instinctively he slammed the control to close it as he made way onto the bridge. He went straight to his favourite console and tapped on the keyboard to bring up what he wanted to see. The answer…

"What!" shouted Eli "That cant be right! That's far too easy! You've got it wrong!"

Eli turned from the panel and stormed around the bridge stamping his feet and flailing his arms.

"Wrong… All wrong…I've done it all wrong!" he shouted to the Ship.

He went back to the console and looked again. It couldn't be that easy surely. He tapped a few things into the console. He decided to check everything he input so many hours before. He checked and rechecked. It just couldn't be that easy.

With frustration he again stormed around the bridge.

"You want me to make a ZPM! A ZPM!" he shouted at no one in particular.

He walked around the bridge again. Surely it couldn't be that easy. Surely not. Then Colonel Young's words came to him.

"Maybe you're over thinking the problem. What is there we need to do?"

Eli stopped and thought again. Well maybe the ship was right. We only need the power for one jump because once we've stopped at a sun, there will be all the energy we need to guarantee that they made the three year journey. Oh my God it was so simple! But wasn't it too simple?

Eli looked back at the console. Another list of things to get. But this one was going to be harder. It was more technical and from the looks of some of the schematics, a lot more complicated than a normal ZPM. This one had to be bigger. But a ZPM created energy, so where was the energy going to come from. A ZPM could make the difference between making it home or forever wandering the universe isolated and truly alone. That was the bit he couldn't understand. He took a look at the schematics and decided the only thing to do was to build it. He was going to have to find somewhere with lots of room. But where to build it? The gate room seemed a good idea. It wasn't far from where he spent most of the time. So the gate room it was. It was spacious and there was a console he could use to access the ships systems, if he had to, and it was central to his search.

He had the data downloaded a bit at a time and off he went. He had a map handy and his journey was about to begin. This was going to be his last journey. The last thing he had to accomplish before sleep.

The first few pieces were easy to salvage from broken down or spent systems. He had become quite handy with the few tools the ship possessed. A jack of all trades, he'd had to in order to survive. He dutifully collected these pieces and took them back to the gate room and laid them out in order. After a while Eli suddenly realised how tired he was and every now and again caught himself making mistakes. Silly mistakes. He dropped his tools and slipped up as he removed some items. He even had trouble following the map and had to retrace his steps and start again. He cursed silently under his breath and soon realised he was going to have to rest at some point. This was too much for him. Time was running out. Then he remembered he hadn't slept in almost two days. As much as it galled him Eli realised at some point the was going to have to sleep. He was making unnecessary mistakes now. With a long intake of breath and a very long sigh Eli, put out the last item he had collected and went to his room. He was too tired to even eat. He pulled off his over shirt and realised something was in the pocket. It was Rush's notebook. Funny he didn't remember putting that there before. Absentmindedly he flicked through it and stopped. He opened it wide and looked intently at one of the pages. There on the page was a scribbled diagram. A diagram of a ZPM. But not a ZPM. It was different. Bigger, more bulky. Was this the secret thing Rush had been working on he wondered? It even looked similar to the one he was working on. No wonder he'd found some of the equations on the wall. But he'd had to finish them because Rush couldn't. Yet again it had been proved to Eli that he was the better man. He threw the notebook by the side of his bed as he got in. Still with the hand held firmly in his grasp Eli closed his eyes and immediately sleep claimed him.

Near the door a shadow passed sending up motes of ancient dust. It made its way through the corridors to Franklins room, opened the door and entered, staying for a few seconds before disappearing into the depths of the dark room.

As the night passed, the ship flew through space, onward, forever onward as Eli slept. As he slept he dreamt of being with his companions again. He'd been so lonely these past few weeks. Although he'd had a purpose, an aim, he felt lost, alone. There was no one to guide him. No one to tell his theories to. No one to sound off to. Hell, he even missed Rush. Things must be getting bad. He could see them all in the mess hall as he stood near the door. Poking fun at each other. Laughing, joking… just being them. In this dream he just stood by the door and watched the comradeship of his fellow travellers and friends. Eventually they spotted him by the door and they waved him in, shuffling up to let him sit down, passing him a drink and a bite to eat, laughing and joking as they did. Eli joined in. Oh he had missed this so much. Just the touch of another person. To be able to talk to someone. To be animated. To be human. To not be alone. Then one by one his companions faded away and the mess hall became darker and he found himself alone once more. He looked around but they were all gone. He got up from the table and approached himself asleep on the floor and lay down in the same position. Eli stirred in his sleep, sighed and turned over. Then restless no more he slept. Silently, soundly.

Outside his room, motes of dust appeared and disappeared and the shadows seemed to be moving. Their inky blackness swirling and stirring. Eli slept on, unaware of the ship around him or the space he travelled through. He was in another world of his own making. The ignorance of sleep protecting him for another night.

There was a beep…It beeped again and Eli stirred. His eyelids opened heavily. Oh he was still tired but refreshed from a good sleep. But oh did his bones ache. He turned and looked for the hand held. He'd had a good eight hours sleep. That was good for him! He slowly rose from the bed and stretched, looking at the ever changing vista of space as it surrounded and passed the ship. He yawned and decided to make his way to the mess hall first, before doing anything else. His stomach growled in agreement. He was really hungry.

He entered the mess hall and chose a tin and carefully opened it. Well what a surprise. More fruit. He smiled to himself as he sat down and began to eat. Today, was going to be a good day, he decided. He drank the last dregs of his drink and made his way to look at the progress he had made yesterday and think about where he was going to start today.

Eli walked purposefully in to the gate room. He was ready for the day ahead, ready for what the day would bring. Eli stopped and looked at the collection of items placed in the gate room. Something wasn't quite right and he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked at the inventory on his hand held and looked at the collection in front of him. Eli frowned. Well it was there on the inventory and checked off but some of the items he began to examine, he didn't remember taking from anywhere. He looked around the gate room with a puzzled look, then looked at his hand held again. He pressed a few buttons and looked at the collection again.

"I don't remember collecting you" Eli stated, still puzzled, as he bent and picked up an item.

"Where did you come from I wonder? I'm sure I didn't get you from anywhere. Either that or I was really tired yesterday" Eli pronounced as he replaced the object back in its place.

Eli scratched his head, confused but there it was, on the hand held, marked off as collected.

"I'm really losing it, now I'm collecting things I don't remember, well I've got a schedule to stick to and there isn't much time" He said to no one in particular. He took another look at his hand held, for the next item he had to salvage, from who knew where. Then off he went following the map and commencing on a very similar journey as yesterday. He took his small collection of tools and followed the path it gave him.

He found himself in some very unfamiliar and particularly dirty corners of the ship for his next object. He couldn't even read the symbols in ancient for it. He just knew what it looked like and where it was located. He went down corridor after corridor, looking ahead and looking at his hand held. Then he stopped. The map had took him to a bare piece

of corridor wall. He looked at the hand held and back at the wall.

"A bit more information would help!" he shouted to the ship. I don't walk through walls"

The constant beep told him he was where he should be. He examined the wall and couldn't find an opening of any sort. He felt around the wall until behind one of the pipes he felt something that stuck out. Very gingerly he pressed it and then he jumped back as a hiss came from the wall and a small opening appeared and inside was the small object he needed. But his hands and fingers were too big to reach it.

For over half an hour Eli tried this way and that but no joy. He couldn't reach it and now his hands were sore from the effort. He would have to go back to one of the banks of weird and wonderful looking tools and find one that would fit. With a heavy heart Eli made his way back. Even his footfalls were heavy. He had only collected a few things and he was having trouble already. At this rate he was going to miss his deadline and a deadline it would be. There would be no going home for him or his comrades if he failed. With renewed vigour Eli put his best foot forward and with purpose went to the tool locker to see what he could find.

Some of it was a jumble, another job when they arrived safely after their jump, fix the tool locker. He sorted through various tools until he found the one that would fit. It looked like a very elegant pair of pliers. The only difference was that they were elongated. They had handles like those of scissors so you could open and close them. He felt the weight of them in his hands, they weren't too heavy. Most of the weight was in the handles making the tip very agile and easy to manipulate. He opened and closed them a few times and was happy with his choice and made the journey back to the opening. He continued walking and then realised he was lost. He hadn't checked the hand held because he was sure of where he was. Eli stopped and looked finally at the hand held. He didn't recognise any of the doors or markings, this was new territory. He couldn't look back either because as he walked the lights went out behind him and all he could see was an inky blackness. He didn't recognise anywhere and for a moment a moan escaped his lips as he realised he was hopelessly lost. Eli began to panic walking this way and that and realised if he put a start point into the hand held , it would tell him where to go. Eli took a deep shuddering breath and looked once more at the hand held. As he looked, the screen showed him where to go. In his panic he forgot. This wasn't good. He took another shuddering breath and continued back following the map on his handheld until he recognised where he was and then with relief he stopped. He took another shuddering breath and realised he was shaking and it was with another great effort he made it back to the gate room. Once there he collapsed on the floor and nearly in floods of tears just lay there. Eventually the shakes passed and Eli sat up. That had been too close. What if he had got hopelessly lost? There was no one to help him back. He had to be more careful next time. Study the route before he left so he was sure he knew where he was. This couldn't happen again. He didn't have the time to waste. He needed to get the pieces he needed and he needed to be sure of what he was doing. Guessing wasn't good enough or blindly wandering the ship.

Slowly Eli began to think that this task given to him wasn't a task, it was a burden. There was a burden to produce an answer whether he wanted to or not. Oh my god what was he thinking. This wasn't a burden. It was something he wanted to do. Some way of proving himself… Yes it was extreme but it was something he felt he had to accomplish. But he didn't have any other option. If he didn't succeed now then everyone he ever knew or loved would be lost. The burden was not to fail. There wasn't another option, this was it.

Eli retrieved the tool he needed from the floor and slowly got up. He looked at his handheld and began his journey again. This time with more care. He paid more attention to where he was going, determined he wasn't going to get lost again. Eventually he arrived at his destination.

The opening in the wall was where he had left it and deep inside he could see the next item on his list. Carefully he took the tool out of the small bag he'd been carrying and tried them out in his hands before proceeding to gently entering the hole and feeling for the item. He felt the end of the 'pliers' bump into the object. He pulled them out a little way and opened them before managing to get a hold. He pulled gently and nothing happened. He tried again.

"For crying out loud, cant you make anything easy" Eli shouted out loud as he tried to peer into the hole. But it was too dark for him to see anything. He tried again with no joy. Exasperated he pulled out the pliers. He stared at the hole again and squinted to see into the depths. He couldn't see any indication of how he was going to get this thing out. H e tried again, this time once he had hold of it he wriggled it one way then the other. Yes , it was moving one way. Slowly he turned the pliers and slowly, with a low grating sound, the object began to turn. The amount of concentration on Eli's face was evident as beads of sweat appeared on his brow. Slowly the object became freer and Eli found turning it easier and easier. Then with a pop the object became free and Eli slowly removed it from the hole. He dropped it into his hand and examined it.

It looked like a large tear drop and was made of some sort of glassy material. For such a small object it was incredibly heavy and he rolled it in the palm of his hand. He noticed a glow, not bright but definitely there. He hadn't a clue what it was. It wasn't something he had ever seen before in all the explorations of the ship. Even with all the repairs he had completed he had never seen anything like this. For such a small object it was fascinating. He held it up to the light but still couldn't see inside it. Carefully he placed it into his bag and made his way back to the gate room. This one small object had taken up so much of his time. He hoped the others wouldn't. If they did he would run out of time.

He eventually made it back to the gate room. This one object had taken most of the day and there was still a lot to collect. Most of it was simple and he knew where he could scavenge them from. It was the objects he wasn't familiar with that gave him the trouble. Although he could see what they were on his hand held, it didn't tell you if you were going to have trouble with them, it didn't even tell you how big they were. That's what took some of his time up. The last object had been the most difficult so far.

His stomach growled at him. He hadn't eaten since first thing. Time to get something to eat and an early night . He was exhausted from all the going to and from. Travelling the corridors this way and that. At least when this was all over he would have a better idea of the lay out to the ship. He placed the object with the others and then stretched and yawned. He rubbed his face with his hands. He was so tired. His eyes burned and he rubbed them. Then he made his way to the mess hall to open another tin.

He put down his bag on the bench and then picked himself another tin. I wonder what's in this one he thought. More fruit or maybe veggies this time. He sat heavily down again and yawned as he opened the tin. A familiar smell rose from the tin as opened it. Meat! It was meat! He quickly opened the tin and flung the lid to the bench top and inhaled the sweet odour that rose from the tin. Real meat! He found himself a spoon and dipped it in and brought out a spoonful of what looked like steak. At first he tasted it with his tongue, just to make sure it was edible. Ooo my, yes it was. Eagerly he spooned it into his mouth and savoured the taste. He licked his lips and then swallowed the first mouthful down. Eli smiled as he imagined Greer's face at seeing what Eli had in front of him. He quickly took another mouthful and then another, until he was at last scraping the edges of the tin, just to make sure he hadn't left anything inside. Then he put the tin down and puffed out a big breath. That had been some meal. Slowly he rose and decided tonight he needed a shower before bed.

Slowly he took off his soiled clothes and gratefully stepped into the shower. It felt so good to be clean. He turned round and round savouring every minute. He felt full satiated as he stepped out and got ready to brush his teeth. What a day today had been. He made his way to his bed and didn't even bother to look out at the vista in front of him. He dropped down into bed and within seconds sleep claimed him.


	9. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Eli rolled over in his sleep and his eyes slowly opened. Another day. There were only a few left now. He had a couple more items to find on his list and then he could start building. He lay there and wondered if there was going to be enough time. He listened to the sounds of the ship for a few minutes before deciding to get up. He went mess hall to get himself something to eat before embarking on the last part of his list. A lot of these things were familiar and he knew where to find most of the things. A lot of them were in redundant stations that weren't being used and he knew that because he and Rush had used these stations for parts before. As he did every morning he went to the gate room to have a quick look at his haul so far.

He looked at his hand held and then looked at what he had already found. As the same as yesterday he found items he was sure he hadn't got or had he got them? He was so tired at the end of everyday he might have missed something. But no… He definitely didn't remember picking up that particular item. He reached down and picked up some small screw like object. He'd have remembered this surely? He put it back down and picked up another item. No he was sure he hadn't got this one either. Puzzled he looked around him. Every now and again he spotted another object he was sure he hadn't collected. But it was on his list, ticked off. Eli rubbed his face and then rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath an decided just to get on with the day.

He looked at the list. Today he was going to need some specific wiring and some sort of solder that he would have to hunt out in the tool room. The inventory told him it was there but not where. This should be fun. He walked to the tool room and entered. It was a bit of a jumble. People had used things but not always replaced them where they should. He checked his hand held again to see what writing he was looking for. He traced the symbols and then began painstakingly going through the place where he knew it should be. He sorted through various drawers and boxes till finally he had it.

"Yes!" Eli shouted in triumph. This might not be as hard as yesterday. He looked at his hand held and saw the next thing was a couple of tools. This might be a bit harder to find, not everything was in its place. He looked at the picture of what he wanted. It looked like a mix of an acetylene torch and a soldering iron but without all the pipes and bits that went with it. He searched in the place it should have been and then a dawning of realisation came to him. It wasn't here. He'd used it when he was fixing the life pod! And like the others he hadn't brought it back either. Well that was another trip but at least he knew where he was going this time. Eli turned and made his way to the life pods.

The way was familiar to him. He turned the corners with ease not really looking where he was going. He opened doors automatically and stepped through them. He didn't really take notice of what was around him. He looked at his hand held as it passed him information and was actually singing to himself. He was on the last leg of his solitary journey. He was nearing the end. He was tired and energized at the same time. Quite a weird feeling really. He was almost buzzing. At last he came to the life pod room and opened the door. The only sound he heard was the hiss of the door. In the room it was silent. The light from the pods was a little eerie though. He walked past his comrades to his own pod. Eli stroked the sides and looked up at the pod. This was his and soon he would be here with all his friends , not long to wait, not long. Then he began looking for the soldering iron he knew he'd left. It wasn't by the pod. Puzzled Eli looked around at the floor. No he couldn't see it. He walked to the console to see if he had left it there. No it wasn't there either. He was sure this was where he had left it. Eli stopped looking and began to think back. His eyes were thoughtful but troubled at the same time. He decided to retrace his steps. He walked over to the pod and then back to the console his hands moving, miming the movements he had made. To and fro he went until finally he stopped and sighed. This was getting him no where. He didn't know where it was and he couldn't find it. For all he knew it had rolled somewhere. He got on his hands and knees and began to feel under the edge of the pod he had been working on. Carefully he inched his fingers under the edge but all he could feel was empty space. There was nothing there.

Eli decided as exasperated as he was and as tired as he was, he was going to have to make his way back. He was going to have to have to systematically search the tool locker until he found it. He wasn't looking forward to that. The room looked so unorganised with things just placed back in the room and not back in their places. With heavy footfalls he made his way back, what a waste of time and energy. Time was of the essence and he didn't have precious time to waste.

Eli looked at his hand held. There were a few small parts he needed and he was familiar with where they were. With his hand held in front of him Eli took off on another search. This one took him to a dingy horrible part of the ship that looked neglected and unloved. No one had been here to do any maintenance. No one lived near this part of the ship. He followed where his hand held led him. He'd even stopped using the Kenos. They were using up small but valuable energy reserves and anyway most of the corridors were dark and dingy and he couldn't see much. Eventually he came to a room he had never been to before and pushed the button to open the door. It partially opened and then stopped. Just what he needed now another thing he had to overcome. He put down his hand held and put his hands in the gap in the door and shoved with all his might. Slowly the door gave and screeched as it complained at being forced open. Eli didn't trust it to stay open so he took off his boot and put it in the doorway until he found something better. The room was dark and cramped. It was full of engineering pipes which gave off various hisses and seemed to sound like a thousand snakes lived in here. Eli entered and turned around the corner where the pipes where and looked back to check the door. It hadn't moved and he heaved a great sigh of relief. Now he turned the corner and followed the net work of pipes as they appeared before him, emerging from the dark. Why hadn't he brought a torch? Up to now he'd never really needed one. He continued further into the room, looking at his hand held and checking he was heading in the right direction. All of a sudden the pipe work gave way to an open area full of panels and consoles. He stepped into the area and almost slipped on a pool of grease. Eli looked up and saw that there was a leak of some sort from the ceiling above him and it had leaked into the open area making it treacherous under foot. Eli with one booted foot and one sockless foot had to navigate through this goo.

"yuck, yuck, yuck!" He shouted as he visibly shivered. The goo was cold and thick and it daubed and stuck to his bare foot.

"Of all the things you've brought me to" Eli exclaimed "This is the worst ..ooooooo"

He managed to make his way to one of the consoles and looked at his hand held. This was going to take a little time. He lifted the front of the console off and placed it to one side, before peering into its inner workings. He looked at the diagram on his hand held and then looked back at the console and back at his hand held. He lifted his hand and began to trace through the circuitry. Inch by inch he carefully traced the path of the inner workings looking for the next valuable piece he needed. His hand was growing tired when eventually he found what he was looking for. It was an oval piece of metal about the size of his thumb. It had ancient writing on it and what Eli recognised them straight away as numbers. He checked his hand held and looked again to see if this was indeed the object he needed. Then proceeded to reach into the console and pick out the next item.

There was a blinding flash and Eli felt incredible pain as he was thrown through the air and landed on the far side of the open area. His head made a dull thud as it made contact with the metal work and Eli slumped to the floor. He didn't move and it looked like he wasn't breathing so short were his breaths. He was now covered in goo and his shirt sleeve smouldered and gave off a small amount of smoke. For minutes Eli lay there totally inanimate. A trickle of blood appeared from his scalp and ran down the back of his head and pooled onto his shoulder. Still Eli did not move. Time passed and Eli lay there.

Eli's eyes flew open and he took in a massive amount of air and he began to panic. He didn't know where he was and he couldn't get up , even though he tried he just couldn't get purchase on the floor and use his feet to get himself up. The goo spread in front of him and into his clothes. Eventually he stopped moving and calmed. He took a look around him and remembered where he was. He rolled himself over onto his side and slowly got himself up using his hands. As he stood up vertigo took over and he nearly fell back down. He stood still for another minute before looking at his hand. It had been burned along his fingers but not too badly. He looked around for his hand held and had to walk across the room again to retrieve it. It hadn't said there was anything going through the system. Then he stopped himself. He hadn't even checked. Now he didn't know if the part he wanted was still working. He retraced the system on his hand held and asked Destiny to check it. It came back clear. The system was fine. Next he sent a command to destiny to close this console down so he could retrieve the part he needed. The lights on the inner workings went out and Eli gingerly reached inside again to retrieve the treasured part he needed. Slowly it released and Eli took it out. Goo ran down his fingers and he made sure none of it touched the part. Then ever so slowly made his way back to where he had come in, covered in goo and blood and made his way out. He even picked up his boot on the way out before he made his way back to the gate room following the map on the hand held. His head was splitting and his hand throbbed as he limped back to the gate room and placed the object with the others. Then he turned to exit and get himself cleaned up.

He made his way to the shower and took off all his clothes and stepped into the therapeutic waves of the shower. Slowly the goo released its hold on Eli and began slipping away. He turned this way and that rubbing off what he could. After what seemed like an age Eli felt better and got out of the shower. His clothes were ruined and totally unwearable. He found a pair of his old trousers and pulled them on. His hand smarted and he took a closer look at it. Blisters were beginning to appear. This was worse than he thought. He felt something wet on his neck and he reached up and found that he was bleeding from where he had hit his head. This was way more serious than he had first thought and he made his way to the medical facilities. He had to patch himself up and quickly. He needed to get back on the job.

He soon arrived at the med lab and hunted for bandages. He found some ointment that had been labelled 'burns' and lathered it on. Then he took a bandage and wrapped up his injured hand. The bleeding on his head had stopped so he felt around until he found the cut on his head and using swabs began to clean it before putting a pad over the wound and putting a bandage on. What a sight he must look. He was in pain, great pain and work for today was not going to happen. Feeling miserable and unhappy Eli made his way to his bed. Gingerly he lay down and made a great sigh of relief. Then tears began to slip from his eyes. He could have died today, he thought to himself. He had come so close. He turned over and sobbed a great sob. This was too much. He was making more silly mistakes and this one almost cost him his life today. The graveness of the situation weighed heavily on him as he cried himself to sleep. He had become the young boy who had arrived on Destiny. The one that just wanted to go home and lie in his own bed. The one that didn't live each day as it might be his last. The boy who innocently played video games and computer games. The one that fought imaginary monsters. Now his monsters were very real. He couldn't lie in his own bed at home. Eli wiped his eyes and decided that he wasn't going to give in. A good nights sleep would do him the world of good. Tomorrow he could start building.

Eli turned over and although still in an emotional turmoil his eyes closed and sleep overcame him. For the first time that day his body relaxed and the lines of worry fell away. Eli was no longer the young boy who had boarded the ship. He had matured into a young man. A man his mom could be proud of. A young man, to whom others had become a great tower of strength, even though he didn't know it himself. He was a person people could look up to and respect. Although sometimes, he wore his heart on his sleeve, he was confident, no longer naïve, he had become worldly beyond his years.

The task he had in hand was the one that would make or break him. A task so beyond any of his ship mates understanding and ability, there simply wasn't anyone else for the job. He was trusted and relied upon. He just couldn't fail. It wasn't an option.


	10. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Eli slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. Yes, he was still here on the ship. He lifted his hand and looked at the bandage on it. Yes that was real to. Slowly Eli rolled over and looked out at the vastness of space. He still thought about how he got here and how far he had come as a person. But he couldn't lie here all day as much as he wanted to. He didn't have long and he would have to get a move on. He rose slowly and painfully. His hand wasn't too bad and he knew he would have to change the dressing. But while it was settled Eli chose to leave well alone. His stomach grumbled reminding him it was breakfast time.

He got up and went to the mess hall. With a sigh he chose another tin and carefully opened it, picked up his spoon and began to eat, almost automatically. Once the tin was finished he placed it back on the table with his spoon and made his way to the gate room. It wasn't a long journey but it gave him time to contemplate where he was and where he was going. Eli knew that he had to concentrate on the task at hand. No more slip ups now, he didn't have the luxury of starting again. Soon he reached the gate room and let himself in. All the pieces to the giant puzzle he was about to construct, were there, all laid out and ready to be assembled. It looked vast as he looked at the array of objects in front of him and once again he wondered if he had taken too much on.

He turned on his hand held and waited for the next set of instructions. The first were to check his inventory and make sure that pieces were laid in groups. But they were all on the floor and Eli found constantly picking them up made his back ache and his head hurt. He kept dropping things as well. He realised he needed tables or some sort of surface to put things on, something higher. Then he wouldn't have to constantly bend up and down. He knew exactly what he wanted.

Eli made his way back to the mess hall. There were tables a plenty there, folded against the wall. Eli tested the weight of one of them. They weren't too heavy . So slowly picked one up and man handled it to the gate room, were he set it up and then went back for another. He repeated this half a dozen times and each time placed a set of objects upon it. This was better now he could see what he was dealing with. Slowly he rechecked the inventory. Yes he had it all. Now came the hard bit. He took his hand held and looked at the display. Ok so far so good. He was familiar with a lot of these pieces. He knew what they did and how they interacted with other components. He had found himself some goggles and caught his reflection in one of the surfaces. Well he wasn't going to win best dressed man of the year either but at least he wouldn't damage his eyes.

Slowly he began to build a sort of circuit board. It was similar to the one in the pod. There were various components that he didn't have any idea what they did. But he followed the plans and did as it asked him. There were many layers that Eli had to build slowly piece by piece and he had to constantly refer back to the original plans that Destiny had given him. Slowly it began to take shape and it looked like some sort of base. It became heavier in his hands and that was making it difficult because of his injured hand. He found if he grasped too much the skin became taught under the bandages and he had to let go. He decided what he needed was to go and rest for a while, until it stopped throbbing.

He went to the mess first but found he still wasn't comfortable so instead went back to the observation deck. If he was on earth he could have taken two painkillers and be back at work. But he wasn't on earth. He realised how much he had taken things for granted at home. The amount of things he had wasted at home. Eli decided to lay down and cat nap. But try as he might he couldn't sleep. Thoughts were whirling round in his head and after ten minutes he got up. He had to get back to work.

Eli realised this was how it was going to be until his hand was better and then realised that this was seriously slowing him down but he decided to battle on. There was no one else. He couldn't stop now. He battled all morning like this…build and rest…build and rest, until finally it actually looked like something. The structure had become a rounded shape of many straight edges a bit octagonal. This was the base for the whole ZPM. Though not one he recognised but he knew what he had built. It had now become quite heavy and uncomfortable for Eli to lift and his hand was beginning to throb more and more. It was late afternoon and Eli was having more and more problems with his hand. He knew he had to stop and go and sort it out in the med lab.

Reluctantly, he set down the object he was constructing and then made his way to the med lab. Once there he gathered more bandages and more ointment and then sat at one of the examination beds and began to unwind his bandage. To begin with it was easy but as he neared his wound it began to stick.

"Ahhhh" cried Eli as the last bit of bandage came off. Now there was only the dressing to remove. Slowly he peeled it back afraid of what he might find. After much manipulating and slow peeling he finally he tugged it away with a grunt and he inspected his wound. His hand was a pinkish red and there were two huge blisters surrounded by some smaller ones. Eli looked at it fascinated. It hadn't felt that bad, but now he could see he was going to have to take really good care of this. Would he have to burst the blisters he wondered. Then remembered how bad a normal blister was and how much more painful that was when it burst. No he would just take care of it and bind it back up. He found some sterile water and slowly poured it over ." Ooo it stung, really bad" thought Eli. He swabbed it with a clean piece of linen and then put the ointment on. At first it stung but that soon settled and then Eli placed another dressing on and carefully bandaged his hand. He inspected his handy work. That would do until tomorrow Eli thought and he went back to the gate room to complete some more work before bed.

The next thing to complete was the housing. That looked pretty straight forward until he began to build it. He moved to the table were all the pieces were. This was going to be fiddly because he had to hold every individual piece in one hand whilst soldering with the other. He also had to run a wire through each join and leave it sticking out at both ends. It had to be a good seal too and the edges had to meet accurately. More than once, as he completed his task, the housing slipped from his grasp. Eli was sure on one of the drops he was going to break it. But it held together. As before, as he built it, it got heavier and heavier. He found it hard to grasp as it grew in size because his injured hand wouldn't manoeuvre well enough with any deftness. He felt clumsy and inept but he carried on with his task, taking longer than he should, until finally the housing was complete. He looked up and then looked at his hand held and realised how much time had passed, this task had took him all day! He was never going to finish at this rate. He inspected his work. Well it wasn't the best he had ever done but the seals looked sound. The casing would need some finishing but Eli was tired and his hand hurt like hell. He was going to have to stop. He took another look at his work. Yes he decided . He could finish it tomorrow. His whole body ached from being in one position.

. Eli stretched. He was stiff too from bending over his work and he had a headache from concentrating too much. His hand throbbed too. He hoped tomorrow would be easier, though he doubted it. He left the gate room and slowly he made his way to the mess hall and chose another tin. As in the morning, he ate almost automatically. Eli didn't even look to see what it was in the tin. He just dipped his spoon in and ate what was on it, then stopped when he realised there was nothing left on his spoon. He licked his spoon clean and put it on the table. He placed the tin with the others and made straight for his bed. He lay down and pulled the covers over himself. He looked through the observation window at the sight he would never tire of. He pulled the covers further over himself and nestled down. He ached all over. Slowly his eyes began to close and within minutes he was asleep. His body relaxed for the first time that day. His tense muscles loosened and he sagged into his bed.

Through the window to the observation lounge, that was now Eli's room, the odd flash could be seen. Not too bright, just a colouring of the deep darkness that inhabited the ship. After a few minutes it stopped and the ship was once again dark. A shadow passed by his door stopping as it passed the window and then carried on. Eli slept on. Blissfully unaware of the passing of time.

For Eli the morning came far too soon. His eyes flickered open and then he stretched and winced. He was so stiff from yesterday. His whole body still ached from being in one position for most of yesterday. Gingerly he rolled over and slowly got up. He ran his hands through his hair and stretched again. He bent down and retrieved his hand held from his bed and yawned noisily. He looked at it and saw that he had slept for over ten hours! He must have been seriously tired. He yawned again and made his way to the mess hall to see what delights could tempt him today. He entered the mess hall and looked at the pile of tins collecting in one corner and realised there was another job to do before he slept, recycle the tins.

Eli picked up a tin and carefully opened it. What a surprise more fruity things. He sat at the table picked up his spoon and began to eat. While he did this he mentally formed a list in his head of the things he was going to have to do before he slept. Once his meal was finished he put the can with the others and sat down again to type the list out. He was getting forgetful and he didn't want to miss anything that needed doing. Would he have to move his new bedroom back he wondered? He was going to have to go around the Destiny and pick up all the things he had left lying around too. He typed for a good ten minutes, every now and again stopping to think and then typing again into the hand held. After a few more minutes his list was complete and he reviewed it once more before getting up and making his way to the mess hall. He wasn't looking forward to another hard slog but it had to be done.

Eli approached the table were he had left the casing from the day before and stopped. The casing was there but that wasn't how he had left it. The joins instead of being bubbled and marred were perfectly smooth. The sides were clean and free from marks too. Eli picked it up he was sure he hadn't finished it that well. He looked around the room, there was no one else here. Eli knew he was really tired the day before but surely not to the point where he didn't remember doing something. He carefully turned it over in his hands and looked carefully at it. The joins were perfect. He slowly put it down and inspected it again. He must have done more than he thought yesterday. Eli rubbed his hands over his face. The sooner he finished, the better he thought to himself.

He picked up the hand held and looked at the next job in hand. He went over to one of the other tables and checked the inventory. Yes this was going to be more straight forward. He had to build another of those bases. Eli pulled over a chair and began slowly building the circuitry. This one was a little different but basically the same. Time passed as he slowly built the next component. Layer by layer, circuit by circuit. He found it easier than the day before , probably because he was more familiar with what he was building. Within a couple of hours the most of the work was done. Eli was sat there concentrating and beginning to quite enjoy himself. This was one in the eye for Rush, he thought to himself. A couple more hours of work and this next piece of the puzzle was complete. As he worked he hummed to himself. He completed the last section and Eli examined his handy work and then set it down on the table. He sat up and stretched. Boy, he was stiff but at least he had got it done and he hadn't had to rest on account of his hand. It must be getting better. He felt quite proud of himself. He looked at the hand held to see what his next job was.

The next job was to begin assembling his handiwork. He went over to the other tables and brought back what he had built. He had what looked like two octagonal bases and a casing.

He looked his hand held to see what was next. It instructed him to get the glass vial he had pulled out of the wall. Apparently it was to go in the central part of the housing. He went across to the table to fetch it. For something so small it was incredibly heavy. The first job was to join the first base he had made to the housing. This involved putting the wires that stuck out from the housing into the channels that ran along the circuit board. Thankfully the housing was large enough to accommodate his large hands. He bent each of the wires up so the looked like a sort of wire web and placed it on the base. Then with extreme care he had to make sure each wire entered a channel. He did this with a long screwdriver to guide each wire to its place. Once this was complete he had to use the torch device to weld them into place within the channels. It was fiddly and it took Eli over an hour to do this. Once this fiddly bit was complete he had to weld the base to the casing. Now his hand really hurt from rubbing constantly on the sides of the housing. It galled him but Eli knew he had to stop and give his hand time to rest.

He looked at the hand held to see what the next job was on the list. This was going to be so much harder. The base was now in its place and now he had to fit the small glass vial inside the casing. To do this he had to build another housing around the vial and then this was to fit into the outer casing. This meant his work was going to have to be incredibly accurate. There was no time for slip ups or mishaps. Everything had to be right.

Eli looked up and realised that he had worked hard all day and this was a job for tomorrow. He ached to the bone and decided that tonight he would have a shower before bed. He also realised he was going to need some new clothes at some point. Wearily he rose from the table and stretched. He rolled his neck and rubbed his eyes. He really was tired, more than he thought he was and Eli yawned a huge noisy yawn. He began walking to his room and then remembered he was going for a shower and turned the other way.

Once in the shower he felt the tension melt away from his muscles. This felt good. This was what he needed. He turned this way and that and decided the water problem would have to be overcome, as good as a sonic shower was, he missed the feel of water. That was another job to add to his list.

Eventually Eli got out of the shower and in bare feet made his way to his room and collapsed into his bed. He put the hand held on the floor and mind full of the limited time he had he set an alarm to go off. He decided to give himself a good eight hours sleep. That should be enough. Within seconds he was sound asleep. His body needing the rest and sleep it was now getting.


	11. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Eli lay in the sun, letting the rays sink through his skin and enjoying the warmth he was feeling. Life couldn't get any better than this could it? He turned his face towards the sun and then was disturbed by an incessant beeping. He was so relaxed but the noise wouldn't stop, he frowned and then he opened his eyes to see where it was coming from. The beach had gone and he was back on the Destiny. Reality hit him square in the face. At least he felt rested and he didn't ache so much. Slowly he rolled out of bed and picked up his hand held and turned the alarm off. He stretched and made his way to the mess hall and breakfast. At least he knew the end was in sight and in a few more days he would be sleeping with the others and hopefully come out the other side. He wanted to get the energy problem sorted so hopefully when they circumvented the Nakai , energy wouldn't pose such a great problem as now. Once he knew how to build these ZPM'S, it would be a doddle to store power and maybe, just maybe he would be able to provide enough power to run parts of the ship that hadn't even been explored. This made him feel really good inside and really positive, more than he had been in days. Yes he knew he had a lot to do but he was now clear on what that was and was actually looking forward to the challenge once more.

Eli entered the mess hall and chose another tin and carefully opened it. Oh the joys… more fruit. He was going to turn into fruit if he ate much more! Quickly his meal was finished and Eli went to the gate room to carry on from his task the day before. He was going to have to build a housing that fit inside the outer casing, although fiddly Eli knew he could complete the task. He went to the table where he had left his work from the day before and checked the inventory with the parts that were on the table and carefully placed them within hands reach and sat down. He looked at the hand held and saw the first part of his task.

The base of the housing had connections that sat upon the small metal wires that ran through the base of the outer casing. These had to be carefully soldered onto a circuit and then there were other wires that ran up the sides of the inner housing. Carefully Eli built the circuit board. It was fiddly and like the other day he found he was dropping it. His bandaged hand was not as adept at holding things. He found the skin was tightening. Occasionally he stopped and flexed his hand but he was determined to carry on, this was not going to beat him. Piece by piece, he slowly built a housing around the glass vial, until only a small piece of it emerged from the housing.

He looked again at the hand held and began the slow process of manipulating the inner housing into the outer housing. It was slow and had to be accurate. Bit by bit, Eli slowly pushed the inner casing further it stopped and an audible click could be heard. Success! The first part was finished. Now to find out what was needed next? He looked down at the hand held and swore. Couldn't something just be easy for once Eli thought? He put the hand held down and paced around the gate room.

"No, no, no, no!" Eli shouted. "Couldn't you just this once make something easy for me!"

He rubbed his face with his hands and made his way back to the hand held. Well he wondered where the power was going to come from, now he knew. The instructions on the hand held were to find a small area near the engines of the ship. There was a small port there and the device he had built was to be slotted in along with the top piece Eli hadn't made yet. The hard part came next. He was going to have to come out of FTL and do a flyby into a star to collect energy. But there in lay the problem. They didn't have the power to fly through a star, as well as raise shields and work the life pods. Eli didn't know how this was going to work. After all this hard work he was back at square one. He sat heavily in a chair despondent and at his wits end. Was this never going to end! Every time he thought he was getting somewhere, he had his feet kicked out from under him. How on earth was he going to achieve this? It was all very well telling him what was to be done but he wasn't getting any help with it! For a moment Eli just held his head in his hands. Think! He had to think! He decided his best option was to make his way to the engines and find where this 'slot' was and if it was going to pose real problems.

He picked up his hand held and looked for where he needed to go.

He nodded to himself and off he went and made his way to the engines. A lot of the areas there were unusable because of severe damage and a lot of the doors were sealed off. He prayed that this was easier than it looked. He made his way down corridors that were becoming familiar to him. He had travelled so far across this ship, more than anyone else and he was beginning to enjoy the daily trips. Then came upon his first obstacle. The door was sealed but it didn't say why. He looked on the hand held. There had been a break in the outer hull when the Nakai had attacked the last time and it had been sealed off. He knew the shields in theory should form a barrier to outer space but he had learned that it was never that easy. He stood and thought for a while. He decided to get a space suit and put it on. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Eli made his way back to the gate room and found a suit and put it on. It was hard with his injured hand because it chaffed inside the gloves and he couldn't move it well enough. After a bit of a struggle he managed eventually to suit himself up and then made his way back to the sealed door. He closed and locked the previous door and made his way to the sealed door and began to override the controls. After a few attempts the door began to open and the pressure began to change. The shields by the look of things were only just holding and the air was being sucked out bit by bit. Holding onto pipes and consoles Eli made his way slowly down the corridor being very aware that any minute now he might be sucked up in to the vacuum of space. He saw where the hole appeared in the ship and made a mental note. That was a job that really needed attention when they came out of their long sleep. It wasn't huge but it was there. Slowly he picked his way down the corridor until he finally came to the next connecting door. It was sealed just like the last one and carefully Eli went through the routine of overriding the system. Slowly the door opened and Eli entered a sealed corridor with no damage. With great joy he lifted the heavy helmet off his head and took lungful's of air. He didn't like these suits at all, they were claustrophobic. He looked around as he went. This was one area he hadn't visited and took a good look at what there was. He could see doors to room that he hadn't a clue about and even when he questioned Destiny on the hand held he got very little information back. He made his way down the corridor until he came to the place his hand held had marked. He looked above his head and saw a door in the roof. Great, now he was going to have to climb. He found steps that led up to the door and began to turn the handle that was there and stopped. Alarm bells rang in his head and he got down off the ladder and put on his helmet. He didn't have a good feeling about this at all. He wedged the hand held behind some pipes and made his way back up the steps. He began to turn the circular handle and as he did he felt it pulling. Before he knew it, it was pulled out of his hand and slammed back almost taking his hand with it. Eli looked through the doorway and didn't like what he saw. The port that was going to put the ZPM in was open to space and although the opening was small the pull was amazing. Eli realised it had been damaged and he prayed it would still work enough to complete his task when it came. He inspected the sides of the port and saw that it had been hit by the Nakai in one of their raids. He hoped it wasn't so badly damaged that it couldn't be fixed. With a great effort, Eli managed to slam the door closed again and sealed it. Why couldn't anything just be easy for once? Why was everything so hard?

Wearily he climbed down the steps and began to make his way back to the gate room. He felt defeated but there was so much he had to complete. He was going to have to find some way of modulating the shields, work the pods and make his way through a star. And what did he have? A half built ZPM, a ship that was a million years old and people he needed to take care of. He took the suit off in the gate room and sat at the table ready to begin the next part of the ZPM. This wasn't going to be so hard. It was similar to the other piece except it was all inverted. He put the hand held in front of him and began the task of building the last piece of the ZPM. This task was easier because he had built the base already and this was just an inverted version of it. While he worked, he thought about the information he had programmed into Destiny. If he could do this, it was going to be a case of cutting it very fine. He was going to use a lot of power modulating the shields and he hoped he didn't use too much or the whole mission was in jeopardy.

Eli worked methodically through the rest of the day, time passed quickly and very soon had completed his task. He left all the pieces together on the table and admired his handiwork as he stood up. Like every day before he was stiff and aching. He stretched and he interlaced his fingers and stretched his weary hands and his fingers cracked. He yawned loudly and made his way to the observation room that was now his room. He was weary to the bone and needed to lie down. He was too tired to eat. He sat on the bench and looked through the observation window. Eli yawned again and his eyes began to droop, so he made his way to his bed and lay down. He pulled the covers over himself and set the alarm. He realised as much as he wanted to rest his time was limited .Eli put the handheld on the floor beside him and within seconds his eyes closed and soon Eli was fast asleep and oblivious to the world around him.

As the night before, a shadow passed the window to the observation room. It seemed to stop for a short time as if checking on Eli and was soon gone…


	12. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Eli woke with a start. He looked around him and then relaxed; he didn't know what had woken him up. He looked at his hand held and realised it would have been time to get up soon anyway. He slowly rose out of bed, adrenalin still running through his veins. That dream was so real. He'd dreamt he was back at home and this was the dream. He'd met up with old friends and his Mom was at home, happy and feeling really good. It was sunny and light. Not like on the Destiny. It was darker on the Destiny that was due to the lack of power. Well today was the day where he would find out if the ZPM worked or not and whether the damaged port would cause problems.

He made his way to the mess and chose yet another can. More fruit! Oh boy was he tired of fruit. He finished his breakfast quickly and went to the gate room to check on yesterdays' handiwork. It was just where he had left it. He realised he was going to have to tidy up but he decided not today. His hand was itching and Eli realised that the bandages were looking a bit dirty and scruffy and they would have to be changed at some point today. He wanted major job of putting the ZPM in the port and then having to check it before anything else.

He donned the space suit again with a bit of difficulty because he still had problems with his hand. Eventually after a little struggling he managed to get the suit on. He put the ZPM in a large rucksack and set off holding the helmet in one hand, the hand held in another and the ZPm thrown over his shoulder and made his way back to the port. Again he checked the doors as before. He didn't want any nasty surprises today. He had put his helmet on because he still wasn't sure how thin the air was here. Finally he reached the last door and decided to be extra careful. He opened it slowly and made his way gingerly to the port. He could feel the pull of space through the small port as he made his way into the room and to the ladder he now had to climb. He checked his hand held for the instructions on how it should fit and as before wedged it behind some pipes before climbing up. His vision was impeded by the helmet. If he turned his head he found himself looking at the inside of the helmet so to see anything he had to bodily move in that direction. It was a slower climb than yesterday because he was carrying extra baggage. For something so small it really did weigh heavily in the ruck sack. Eventually he reached the small door and opened it. He saw the colours of the shield hold space back from invading the ship and man handled the ZPM across his chest. Now this wasn't going to be easy as he could only safely use one hand to get it out of the rucksack. After a bit of juggling he managed to get it out and to begin lifting it up into the aperture. Space pulled at him and once or twice he thought he was going to lose it. Inch by inch he pushed the ZPM slowly to the slot where it had to go. He managed to make it slot into its place and then began to pull his hand away. He could see the damage on the other side of the ZPM and prayed it hadn't made any difference. Then all of a sudden his hand was sucked involuntarily into the damaged hole. Eli tugged and tugged but it wouldn't budge.

"Not now!" Shouted Eli in his helmet. The clumsiness of the glove was wedged into the hole and it wasn't budging. He couldn't believe he had come all this way to fall prey to something so silly as a hole. Eli tried again. No it wasn't budging. Eli stopped struggling and thought about his alternatives which were few and far between. He couldn't take the glove off because first he would lose his oxygen and the other alternative was freezing to death.

"Think…think" Eli said to himself. There must be a way out of this. His hand and arm were beginning to cramp up. Eli leant against the ladder and very carefully pulled the ZPM out of its slot with his other hand. Perching precariously then Eli carefully withdrew his hand , then just as quickly he shoved the ZPM into its slot and grabbed the ladder with his other hand. Eli swung around and lost his grip. Wildly his hands shot out and grabbed for the ladder. After what seemed like minutes, that were actually seconds, Eli grabbed the ladder and held on for dear life. His legs and feet were kicking and flailing looking for somewhere to put themselves. Eventually one boot caught a toe hold and Eli found himself once more on the ladder. Eli's breath came in huge panicky gulps as he realised how near he had come to actually doing himself some real harm. Sweat poured down his back and across his face. His breathing began to slow and Eli shakily made his way down the ladder to the floor. AS soon as both feet had touched the floor Eli sagged to the ground. If it wasn't for his helmet he would have kissed the ground he now lay on.

Then he looked up. He was going to have to climb the ladder again to close the hatch. Shakily he got to his feet, slumping against the wall for support and looked up the ladder to where he would have to climb. Slowly he calmed his breathing and again climbed the ladder very slowly. He wasn't sure if he could do this again, and he rested after each rung. When he got to the top he raised his good hand and slammed the hatch shut quickly before grabbing the ladder with both hands and resting before he got down again. Again he slumped down and shakily rested against the wall. His breath was still short but at least he wasn't as frightened.

Slowly Eli forced himself up and made his way back to the Gate room to take off the cumbersome suit. He was still shaking as he reached the Gate room and Eli threw the suit off, panicking as he did. Finally he managed to get the suit off and again Eli sagged to the ground. His breathing was still coming in short sharp breaths but after a couple of minutes he finally brought it under control and shakily he got to his feet and sat heavily on a bench. That had been far too close for comfort. His burnt hand was no longer itching but instead was throbbing. Eli realised he must have damaged it and it was going to need attention. Wearily he got to his feet and made his way to the med lab.

Once there Eli collected bandages, ointment and various other bits he thought he might need. He sat himself next to the bed he had collected his things on and began to slowly unwind the bandage. So far so good. It didn't look too bad. But when he came to the last layer once again it was stuck and he had to slowly tug at the bandage and dressing to remove it. It was agony but bit by bit Eli peeled it away. By the time he had finished taking the bandage off his eyes were full of tears. The dressing was next. He took some sterile water and poured it on the dressing to help him remove it. As he did the pain became excruciating and he had to stop. His breath was quick and he waited for it to slow down and began to peel the dressing off.

To Eli's horror a large swaith of skin came with it. It was dead and grey and he realised it was the blister. It had burst and stuck to the dressing. No wonder it had hurt so much. Eli looked at it with horrid fascination. His hand was a mixture of bright red where there was no skin and bright pink where there was. Some of the smaller blisters were intact but the bigger ones had bust and dead skin lay over the mixture of red and pink.

Eli sat back with his hands on the bed and looked away with his eyes closed. This was bad , this was really bad. Slowly he looked at his hand and realised he was going to have to bandage it again. He cried aloud as he began to clean the wound and his breath was again short. He put on the ointment and then a dressing. Eli had never experienced so much pain in all his life. Bit by bit he began to bandage his hand and then when that was completed he stopped and a with a sensation of both nausea and great exhaustion over whelmed him. He ran to one of the sinks where he retched . When that stopped Eli decided he was going to have to make his way back to the observation deck and lie didn't think he could accomplish much more feeling like this. He began to make his way to the observation deck and then changed his mind. He stopped in the corridor and looked at the hand held and changed direction and began to head to the bridge instead. He had to test the ZPM somehow or be able to check it was in the right place at least.

He entered the bridge and sat in his chair and looked out to space. He took a minute to think about all he had done. Very soon it would be his time to rest. He so looked forward to that. He looked at the console in front of him and looked at the ship where the ZPM was now housed. It registered on the schematics but was showing as having no power. Power, that was going to be the next step. This was the one he hadn't figured out yet. The problem he had here was to travel through a star, keep Destiny's crew alive and modulate the shields all at the same time. Eli didn't have a clue.

Normally Destiny found the stars herself. But she wouldn't do this at the moment because they had plotted into Destiny the three year trip to avoid the Nakai. So Eli realised that first he would have to drop out of FTL, let Destiny find a star and get there without the Nakai blowing her sky high.

"The impossible I can do…Miracles take a little longer" Eli said aloud.

Eli began to look at star charts and asked Destiny to show him where the next star was. In the centre of the bridge a star map appeared showing the galaxy they were in, where Destiny was and where the star was. A few formulas appeared next to it and Eli took a close look at those. The star wasn't that far away. Maybe a day in Elis calculation, that meant he didn't have long to prepare.

A day and then he would finally be able to rest. The thought hit him hard and Eli sat back in his chair. One more day and the struggling would soon be over. Wearily he rubbed his hand over his face. He was so tired. He decided to make his way back to the gate room, he needed to tidy up and get things away. Eli forced himself out of the chair and began the trip back to the gate room. It was a slow walk because he felt so exhausted. He finally got to the gate room and he looked through the window in the door. Nothing was spoiling, nothing would happen while he slept. The gate room could wait. His hand was throbbing, he had a headache and all he wanted to do was sleep.

He turned away from the gate room and made his way to the observation lounge. He kicked off his boots and lay straight down. He looked at his hand held and almost couldn't see the screen. He made sure that the timer was set. Then wearily he lay down. Oh that felt good. Everything seemed to be hurting. He turned on his side and looked through the window. Soon he thought to himself , soon. He yawned and rubbed his eyes then snuggled down in his bed. His eyes were gritty and at first he couldn't close them. Then they became heavy and then they closed. Eli sank into a deep sleep. His breathes became more even. The ship travelled through the vastness of space nearer to its goal.

On the bridge, a console lit up along with it screen and information flashed across the monitor. Lines of data were being written and downloaded into Destiny's memory. Then as fast as it appeared it stopped and once again the bridge was suddenly plunged into darkness once more.

Please leave reviews so I know Im going on the right track


	13. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Eli woke with a start and at first, he didn't know where he was. He looked around him bewildered and then suddenly realised where he was and slumped back into the bed. He was still so tired. He reached for his hand held and looked at the screen. He could sleep for a bit longer if he wanted , he debated this for a minute and decided he had better get up instead. Groaning, he rose from his bed and looked outside at space . Then he wondered what had woken him up, he had slept that deeply he didn't remember what he had dreamt about either He scratched his head and yawned and headed for his breakfast. This was going to be a big day and he had a lot to do. He picked up one of the last tins he would eat, this half of three years and sat at the table and carefully opened it and began to eat what was inside, without really being conscious of what he was eating. As he had every day, he put the tin on the pile with the others to be recycled and made his way to the gate room.

He took a good look at the gate room and decided what needed doing first. The first thing to do would be to put all the tools away. Then he had to put the benches back and put the tables away. So he began his task, one bench at a time being very careful not to catch his hand, which was throbbing and sore. Within half an hour of travelling from the gate room to the mess, Eli had all the benches restacked. Then he collected all the tools in his rucksack and made his way to the tool store.

When he got to the tool store he could see sorting this room was a job that really needed doing at some point. To be honest it was a mess. He carefully removed each tool from his rucksack and placed them one by one in the correct places. He had a feeling he would be needing these at some point. Very soon this too was completed and Eli now had to make his way to the bridge to see what needed to be done before he finally came within range of the star that Destiny had chosen.

He made his way slowly to the bridge, he was so tired now and he couldn't wait until he could rest, finally. As he approached the bridge, he saw Faulkner's door was open again! He was really going to have to do something about this when they came out of their long sleep. Must be a faulty mechanism or something. He went into the room and looked around. It was no different to any other day he had come in here and the window still had that strange pattern on it. He went over and took a closer look at it. He traced it with his fingers. It definitely reminded him of something but he didn't know what, he'd have to think about that one. He left the quarters and closed the door behind him and without looking back entered the bridge and sat at his favourite console and took a deep breath. This was finally going to be it. He looked around him before finally looking at the screen in front of him. He looked at his hand held and input a few details and the console lit up in front of him. Equations went across the screen and then finally stopped with a set of what looked like co-ordinates. This was the star they were going to try and fly through, if the Nakai let them or if they could be avoided long enough to collect what they needed before they attacked the Destiny with their drones. A clock appeared underneath the co-ordinates, a count- down to what Eli had programmed into the Destinys data banks. Eli re checked his calculations and they were correct. Then he tested the ZPM, it was still registering. He wasn't sure how exactly it was going to collect its power and he hoped it hadn't been damaged otherwise it was going to be a long journey, one he wouldn't survive and the life pods would fail. Eli knew that wasn't an option. This had to be done right first time. There would be no more second chances. Eli rechecked the calculations for the modified shields. They showed they had been accepted into the system and they were working.

Eli sat back and took a deep breath. Over two hours had passed, checking and rechecking and the time was arriving. Eli stood up and stretched. He didn't know if he was really ready for this. This was such a big step. He looked through the observation window for what might be his last time. He still had an hour and he decided to go to the life pods to check they were ok.

He exited the bridge and made his way to the pods. He walked down the darkened corridors opening and closing doors, finally Eli reached his destination. He opened the door and at first just stood there. He was struck by the enormity of what he was about to do. He took a deep breath and went inside and found Colonel Young. He looked wistfully at Colonel Young's face through the front of the pod.

"Well sir not long now" said Eli "I hope it all goes well and we see each other on the other side, its going to be a bumpy ride and its something I can only do once. But we need the power Colonel so I need to try otherwise we could all die. Don't think bad of me if it doesn't happen. I tried". He tapped the front of the pod and turned and walked out of the pod room and back to the bridge. There was something else he had to do before they flew into the sun. He soon reached the bridge and sat again at his favourite console. He punched a few buttons on his hand held and after a few minutes a Keno appeared.

Eli had it hover in front of him. Then he sat himself more comfortably in the chair and punched another button on his hand held. He was going to record a message he had decided, for just in case he didn't make it. People needed to know about what had happened and what Eli had achieved.

"If you're watching this, then I probably haven't made it and if that's the case Im sorry. I really, really have tried. But Im so tired now. Ive done everything I possibly can, to make sure everyone makes it to their destination, even if I don't... If I don't can you please tell my Mom, Colonel. Im going to make a separate recording for her. Please take it to her and let her see that what I did wasn't a waste" Eli laughed "This is so ironic, weve done this so many times before. Tell her I really tried to come home"

Eli stopped for a minute, turned the Keno off and contemplated what he was about to say. Then he turned the Keno back on, took a deep breath and began ..

"Hi Mom, if youre watching this, then I'm sorry mom, I've broken my promise to you." Eli took a really deep breath and bent his head down, then looked up again… " I know I said I was going to come home but something has happened and I cant Mom … Im just so sorry. Colonel Young will be sitting right next to you mom so don't worry. Mom, Ive seen so many amazing things, met so many amazing people and that I wouldn't change it for the world. I've experienced so much Mom. Please don't be sad." Eli stopped and realised there were tears on his face and he wiped them away "I love you Mom and I always will. Don't be sad Mom, Ive died doing what I wanted to do, making a difference."

Eli turned the Keno off. He just couldn't go on much longer. The dawning of his own mortality hit him hard and he sobbed. Big fat tears poured down his face and he realised how much he had to lose. He got up from the console and walked around the bridge , sobbing. After a few minutes, he wiped the tears from his face and took a deep breath. He knew he couldnt fail. He had too much to lose. He wiped his face again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He took a couple of deep breaths and sat back down at the console. The star would be in range very soon and they were going to drop out of FTL. Calculations began to flash across the screen as Eli input the final commands for Destiny to come out of FTL at the correct time. Then he transferred the working data to the command chair. He would have a better view from there as well. The time was fast approaching and Eli began to ready himself.

There was beep from one of the consoles on the chair. There were seconds to go and everything had to be just right. The count- down began to fall from FTL to normal space and Eli watched the clock. His breathing quickened as he readied himself for what was to be his final effort and what could be his final act. The ship shuddered as she slowed and suddenly normal space was all around him. In front of Eli through the observation window was the sun that Destiny had to travel through to get the much needed power and in front of that wasa black dot, a Nakai command ship. As soon as Destiny dropped out of FTL, the modified shields went up. It was amazing. The whole deck in front of him glistened with a rainbow of colours, constantly changing. Wow these were the new improved shields and they were out of this world. Eli sat there stunned for a moment at the thing of beauty he saw before him. Tiles of changing colours transfixed him.

Eli began to worry, adrenaline coursed through his veins as he saw drone ships approach. He had minutes to sort this out or they were dead in the water. All over the ship unimportant systems began to shut down in readiness for what was about to happen. Then Destiny again amazed him as multiple Destiny's began appearing in front of him. As the drones began to approach their target some began to peel off and head for the other Destiny's. Then the whole ship vibrated as multiple hits, hit the shields. The noise reverberated around the ship. It was almost deafening. The shields shimmered as they were hit, time after time and Destiny shuddered with the constant barrage and then began to fire back , Hitting one target after another. Eli sat there stunned. He had thought that it would be him firing the great guns but control was out of his hands and Destiny had taken full first he began to panic and then realised that Destiny knew what she was doing. But where was all this power coming from. Eli pulled up the power feeds through the console and realised that the ZPM was actually powering the shields. Then he remembered that little vial he had built the ZPM round. Then he realised why it was so heavy. In lay mens terms the destiny was run from the energy that the stars made from. That vial must have contained just a small amount of subspace energy. The drones began to out manoever Destiny but their fire power seemed to have little impact. Eli watched fascinated and his hands gripped the sides of the command chair as Destiny headed relentlessly for the command ship. Blast after blast hit the shields but nothing got through and the command ship got nearer. The drones continued to shower Destiny with as much fire power as they could muster, Destiny returned fire snuffing out the drones like they were flies. They began to realise that not all the Destiny's were the real thing and began to peel off and fire at the individual ships in the hope that they would eventually find the right one. One by one they began to converge on the real Destiny and one by one began to target the real thing.

On the bridge, sparks came from one of the data banks on the wall of the bridge. Eli shook himself ,got up and found an extinguisher to put it out. More sparks flew from other consoles and Eli began to feel a great dread in his stomach. For the first time in his life he felt the greatest fear he had ever felt. He stared out of the observation window as more and more drones began to target Destiny. Then realised he was going to have to sit down before he fell down and made his way shakily to the command chair. He began to wonder if this was the right thing to do and for the first time actually thought he wasn't going to make it.

The multiple Destiny's began to aim at the command ship, firing the great guns that were slung under the great ship, at first with no great effect. Eli could feel the vibration through the chair itself. His very core shook with the vibration. Those guns were so immense. Eli urged them on and then all of a sudden the command ship erupted in a massive mass of flame and flying debris. The drones stopped firing and then just hung in space. The multiple Destiny's disappeared and Destiny's normal shields returned.

At first Eli sat there stunned, was it really over? Was this it? His breath came in short bursts and he realised he had been holding his breath throughout the attack. Then he shot up out of the command chair.

"wooooooo" Screamed Eli as he jumped around the bridge. "we've done it. We've done it!" Tears coursed down his cheeks so great was his relief. He looked through the observation window. The drones just hung dormant in space. The command ship was gone. But he knew he couldn't sit on his laurels. There were other command ships out there. Destiny and her crew were not safe yet.

Eli sat in the command chair and saw the equations flying across the console screen. These were his new objectives. He was about to travel through a star and harvest the badly needed energy to reach their next destination safely. They would still need the three year journey. The Nakai weren't far away and they covered every star and planet useful to them in this galaxy. Eli knew his journey would soon be one of sleep, with his comrades. Preparations had to be made. There was still so much to do. Eli decided to make his way to the observation deck. All the necessary details were already plotted into Destinies data banks.

Eli made his way to the big observation window as Destiny began her descent into the star, in a large arc, looking like a sword cutting through space. The star came nearer and nearer and soon they had entered the corona of the star. The ship shuddered and buffeted and Eli sat on the floor looking out at the amazing vista before him. Destiny seemed to pick up an amazing amount of speed and sliced through the corona towards the chromosphere. Eli felt the bufferting reverberate around his rib cage as Destiny sank deeper into the chromospere soon the gases were all around the Destiny. Eli felt the nacelles drop down as they sank deeper into the sun and skipped the photosphere . The hull of Destiny was on fire and glowed a bright orange, which in turn bathed the bridge in a surreal light. The turbulence seemed to settle to a steady rhythm. This was a sight that Eli never tired of, even though he had seen this a few times now. Then the colours changed again, the nacelles retracted and they began to make their way out of the star. The orange hull glowed like the embers of a fire and slowly died away and Destiny returned to its natural colour. Then it shot away from the sun and once more returned to its course out of the galaxy towards the next.

Eli still sat on the floor looking at the amazing vista before him. Slowly he got up and went to the console to see their progress. The timer on the console was counting down, ready for the next jump to FTL .The clock reached zero. Everything was as it should be. Then a shudder could be felt and Destiny entered FTL once more, heading relentlessly for their next destination. Eli looked around the bridge. He wouldn't be seeing this for a while. Eli exited the bridge after closing down the controls, ready for the big sleep. He made his way through the darkened corridors to his room. He was just so tired. He rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted emotionally as well as physically. His eyes were gritty and sore. He decided what he really needed was a shower but he felt too drained. It could wait till tomorrow. Eli stopped. Tomorrow…That was going to be his last day. Tomorrow he could join his comrades and sleep. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Eli entered his room and made his way to the rail in front of the window and leant heavily against it. He realised he had achieved all his goals. That really he had nothing to do and to be honest he felt bereft. As much as he wanted to stop and rest, he didn't want to stop. He was really enjoying what he had accomplished. Eli looked through the window and smiled. He was actually pleased with himself he thought. He had done well. He never thought he would come so far and achieve so much. Exhaustion began to over whelm him. Eli took a deep breath, took one more look at the world around him and decided sleep was what he needed now. He turned away from the observation window and made his way to his bed. He set the alarm on his hand held. Sleep was beginning to envelope him. He put the hand held on the floor beside him and crawled under the covers. He felt safe, he felt warm, he felt happy. His eyes closed and soon sleep claimed him.

Through the window of Eli's room a shadowy figure checked on Eli and was gone. Disappearing into the shadows of the now dark ship. On the bridge a console lit up and information flashed across the screen. Consoles on the bridge flashed as information was received .Then it shut down and the bridge was again dark.


	14. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Eli's eyes flickered open, well before his alarm went off. He looked out of the window, safe in his cosy bed. He didn't want to rise yet. He wanted to enjoy what time he had left. As tired and exhausted as he was, he wanted to enjoy Destiny on his own, for just a little bit longer. He looked through the window for a while, before deciding that he had to get up. He began to make his bed and realised that he wouldn't be sleeping here tonight and that everything had to be put back as it was before. He stood up and decided that breakfast was in order instead. He made his way to the mess and chose another tin. He opened it carefully and began to eat its contents. Fruit again. He took his time this morning. There was nothing to rush for now. He had a list of things that needed to be done before he began his long sleep along with his companions. Once finished he put the can with the others, as he reached over, the bandage on his hand tightened. Eli hadn't expected that. He hadn't had trouble with it for a while now and that reminded him there was another job. To change the dressing but there were more important jobs to be done first.

Eli made his way to where he had found his new clothes. The clothes he had on were spoiled, worn and smelly and needed replacing. He wandered down the darkened corridors and made his way to the storage room where he had found his clothes in before, to replace the old worn ones. As he walked down the darkened corridors he looked around him. He wondered whether the ship would change in three years or if it would remain the same? What if they were boarded whilst they slept? Eli shuddered at this thought. The Nakai had been nasty enough to deal with. He soon arrived at the store room and pushed the control to open the door. He made his way to the area he had found his clothes in before and opened various boxes before finding what he needed. He needed new boots as well as clothes. His others were ruined when he fell in all that muck and injured his hand. He held up various items of clothing until he found what he needed. The others he refolded and replaced back in their boxes. Then he decided to have a look round to see what else there was to discover.

Some of the boxes had locks on; he would have to bring the Colonel down here to have a look. Others didn't appear to have locks and he looked inside those. He found some amazing bedding in one and decided he was taking that back with him. He found some for Chloe too. She'd appreciate something nice. It was like an Aladdin's cave. He looked around the storage room, it was huge, there must be so much to discover here. Maybe they would find supplies that they so desperately in need of too. He carried on peering into boxes and then came across something they badly needed.

He opened a really large box. It didn't open like the others it opened down the front and outwards, He opened it and it was a miracle. He recognised immediately what it was. Eli whistled and a huge grin appeared on his face. He couldn't have wanted for something better. He opened the double doors wider and revealed two filters for the air conditioning. They really needed these. They were brand new and unused. The ones they had were cobbled together from bits they could find. Finally they could have clean air. He looked around excitedly and found a floating truck. He turned it on and the mighty anti grav engine hummed into life. Yes! He couldn't have wanted for something better. He man- handled both filters onto the truck. They weren't too heavy and soon he was on his way to replace the two broken filters. He wound his way along the corridors until he arrived at his destination and opened the broken unit they had created. It did its job, just not efficiently. He looked at the unit and realised this was going to be a harder job than he first thought. There was no way he could do this on his own was there? He looked at his hand held and wondered if there was anything in the schematics that would help him. He turned the trucks engines off and left the filters where they were. Then he went up to the bridge. The large main computers were there and he needed those to source what he needed.

He entered the bridge and called up the main schematics. They had called these up before and he knew roughly where he should look. Soon enough he had found what he wanted, it looked straight forward enough, actually easier than he had anticipated. It was just a basic connection and the attachment of a few electrodes. The pod he had fixed had been so much harder. So had building the ZPM. He transferred the information to his hand held and made his way back to where he had left the two filters.

On the way back he knew he had to go to the store room and retrieve some of the tools he had left there. After working on the other things, this must be more straight forward. He soon found himself at the tool store and fund himself a pair of what looked like pliers and other small hand tools and made his way to the filters.

The first job was the worst. He had to remove the old filters and he realised that this could be a mucky job. Gingerly he inspected what had to be done. The first thing was to disconnect the old filters and hope they hadn't damaged the original fittings, He remembered the amount of trouble it had caused Rush. To his surprise it wasn't too hard to remove them but these weren't as light as the new ones and Eli wondered if he could actually lift them out on his own. They were also really filthy. There was black goo all around them and oozing out of them in places where they had cobbled together the various parts. Eli stopped and took a deep breath. Ok this was it and it was something that had to be done. He took a really good hold of the first filter and began to loosen the joint at the top of the unit, the gunk was everywhere and it smelt. But slowly the connection began to loosen. Then he had to put in some software commands to actually turn off that system. He didn't want any more nasty accidents. He heard the filters begin to shut down. Eli couldn't quite see inside the top of the filter so he had to use the ant grav truck to stand on. He moved the new filters off it and then moved it in front of the opening to reach inside. That was no mean feat because it kept moving slightly. Eventually Eli was able to reach right into where the filter was and totally remove it from its moorings. He pulled it as near to the edge as he could before jumping off the anti grav truck and moving it away. Then he reached inside to pull the old filter out. It was much much heavier than he anticipated and he almost dropped it as he pulled it further out. The strain on his injured hand wasn't good. He could feel the bandage tighten over his already sensitive wound and it began to cut into the burns on his hand. As soon as he could, he dropped the filter. Sweat appeared on his face with the strain and he held his hand as his wound exploded as the bandage became slacker. It was then that Eli realised that this might have been a mistake and maybe he should have left it well alone. But he had to finish what he had started.

He went back to the anti grav truck and manhandled the new filter on it. This was easier said than done. His hand now was just a world of pain but he had to finish his task. He manoeuvred the anti grav truck to the front of the opening where the new filter would be placed and consulted his hand held. This should be an easier job of slotting in the new filter. He lifted it off the anti grav and pushed it quickly in to opening. Then shimmied it into place. He pulled down the connection and it fitted like a glove. He removed as much of the black gunk as he could and simply tightened the joint. Then it was a very simple job to connect up the connections that had dangled there uselessly for the past few months. Again this was like the ZPM so he had a good idea of what he was doing. He occasionally referred to the schematics on the hand held but within a few minutes they were all connected up. Eli stepped back to look at his handy work and was quite pleased with himself. The next thing to do was to turn on the power to the unit. He entered commands into his hand held. At first there was nothing. Then the new filter began to flicker as systems booted up. Then it all went black. The panel went black, the filter went black! "Nooo" shouted Eli. Then the panel shuddered into life and the filter followed suit. Eli let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He checked that all was well on his hand held, rechecked the systems and when that was done he was satisfied it was a good job done. There were only another twenty or so to go he told himself. They could wait he decided. He still had things to.

He made his way back to the storage room to pick up his new clothes and bedding from where he had left them. His hand was just throbbing now and he decided on his way out he could have another quick look around. He opened another box that looked more like a chest. Inside were instruments of some kind but he couldn't recognise what for. He moved on and opened another box to find something wrapped in what looked like foil. He opened one and it was food. He sniffed it first, it smelt ok. Then he stroked the top of what looked like a wafer with his finger and tasted it. Wow! It was like nectar. His mouth began to water and tentatively he took a small bite. After not tasting anything like this for so long it was like the ambrosia of the gods.

"Mmmmm" mumbled Eli as he took another bite and licked his lips. This was so good after the diet he'd been on for months. He nibbled at it again but then couldn't resist and put the whole thing in his mouth. It was out of this world. Eli decided as a last meal, this was high on his list. He took another two packets and then another two and stuffed them in his pocket. He closed the lid on the box and knew this was somewhere he was coming back to.

He was about to leave the room when he spotted another box that didn't look quite like the others and he had to squeeze past a few other storage chests to reach it. At first he couldn't see a way to open it. Then he saw a small button on the side. As he pressed the button a small drawer emerged. In the drawer were what looked like books? He picked one up and opened it. It was so beautiful. It had a hard cover that was embossed and had what looked like gold leaf on it. It was full of Ancient writing. Not printed though, it was beautifully hand written. He could make some of it out but only the odd couple of words. There was what looked like entries. It looked like a diary or maybe a log of some kind. Eli decided that this might be important for finding the true mission of Destiny and made a mental note to come back here. He carefully replaced the book and closed the drawer.

Eli realised time was getting away from him. He had other things he needed to do. Reluctantly he picked up his pile of new clothes and made his way back to his room. He put them on his bed for now and then started on his next task. All the cans had to be recycled so took them into the tool room for now. He stacked them carefully on an empty shelf. He couldn't remember eating so many cans and it took him three journeys to get them all stowed away. Then he did a quick tidy of the tool room. They would be using this a lot when they awoke. Too and fro he went around the room replacing things where they should have been put to begin with. Eli stood back and looked at his handy work. Yes that looked much better.

The next job was to go to the bridge and check that all the calculations were in putted into the data banks. He wasn't taking any chances. He spotted the Keno on the console and he pocketed that. He would leave that near the Colonels pod. He sat down at his favourite console and he checked his calculations for staying in the long jump and where they should come out eventually. This took him a while as he had to check everything. There was no room for error. After half an hour of checks and rechecks Eli was satisfied. There was plenty of power and so long as they stayed in FTL they were safe from the Nakai. Eli stood up from the console, stiff from sitting for so long. He stretched and yawned. Next on his list was …His room. It had to be put back into his old quarters. Eli made his way out of the bridge, to walk to his quarters when he realised that Franklin's door was open again. He entered the room and put down what he was carrying on Franklins bed. It irked him that much, that for a few minutes Eli opened and closed the door from the outside and then re-entered the room and opened and closed it from the inside and couldn't find anything wrong with it. It had to be a software glitch that was the only explanation. Puzzled he stared at the mechanism and even pulled out a small screw driver from his pocket and fiddled with the doors mechanism. He couldn't find anything wrong. Well this was one job he was going to have to do as soon as he awoke. He took another wander around the quarters to see if there was anything out of place. But no, everything seemed fine to him. He took one last look around picked up his belongings and exited the room and headed for his own.

He soon reached the observation deck, dropped his newly found items and went to the huge window and looked outside and contemplated how long this journey was. How amazing it was to travel from one galaxy to another. Yes it was going to take a while but back on earth this couldn't even be contemplated. He looked with almost childish wonder at the vista outside. He couldn't get enough of it. He had to mentally shake himself to move away and begin the task of moving his room back to where it belonged.

First he folded his bed sheets and took them to his quarters and placed them in one of the corners. Then he went back and picked up the bedding he had dropped on the floor next to his bed. It was a quilt that seemed to shimmer and become a rainbow of colours; blues and purples appeared and disappeared as it moved. He went back to his room and began making up his bunk with sheets and pillows and finally the quilt. It looked really good. It was a shame he wouldn't be sleeping in it for now though but at least it was ready. Then he went back to the observation deck and picked up the quilt he had found for Chloe. It too shimmered with a rainbow of reds and oranges, almost as if it was on fire. He made his way to Chloe's quarters and was about to open the door but stopped. Would Chloe mind if he went in? He wasn't sure but then he realised she wasn't here to ask and opened the door. He looked at the few personal belongings that were on the bedside table and then placed the quilt on the bed before turning on his heel and leaving, closing the door behind him as he went.

Eli wondered back to the observation deck. His last day would soon be over. He decided he had better have a shower and get changed; now he had done most of the big jobs. He got to the observation deck and tidied up the last bits and took them to his room. He decided he had better tidy that too. He pottered about his room for a few minutes before deciding he had better get himself organised. It was almost as if he was finding things to do and putting off the inevitable. He picked up his new clothes and made his way to get a shower.

He took off all his old clothes and decided that for now he would take them back to his room and decide what to do with them later. He took off the bandage from his hand too. The sonic shower would get rid of any residual dirt and give it a thorough clean. But that was easier said than done. Eli had to sit down and carefully peel away the bandages which had again become stuck to his wound. He winced with the pain, gradually easing the bandage off. Then repeated the same procedure as he removed the dressings covering the worst of his wound. The wound was still really angry and bits of grey skin still appeared where the larger blisters had burst. It was still a horrible sight to see and Eli shivered. Then he got himself in the shower being very careful not to knock his hand. It felt so good and he could feel the grime and dirt of the last couple of days slowly seep away. Eli turned this way and that enjoying the sensation. A smile spread across his face. Things hadn't been this good in a while. Eventually though he had to get out of the shower and get dressed before making his way to the med lab and to sort out his hand. He felt really good as if a weight had been lifted from him. He even hummed a tune as he went. He soon got to the med lab and collected all the things he would need. Then sat down and began by applying ointment to the burns and moisturising the skin that had begun to heal. Then he applied dressings to the worst affected areas before finally bandaging his hand carefully. He had this down to a fine art now and remembered not to wind it too tightly. Once he had done this he opened and closed his hand gently to check he could move it. Once he was happy with it, he made his way to the mess hall and decided to have his meal before finally finishing the last few jobs.

He sat down in the mess hall and eyed the foil packets he had left there. He was so looking forward to those. He carefully opened the first packet and savoured the taste. It was so good. He was going to have to make sure that everyone got a taste of these when they woke up. He slowly ate his way through the first packet. They were quite filling or was it that his stomach had shrunk from such a restricted diet Eli wondered? He broke up the treasured food into little pieces before popping them into his mouth. This had to be the best thing he had ever tasted and his mouth continued to water as he ate. Soon though the first packet was gone and Eli decided to save the next packet for later. He had to make his rounds of the ship, just to check that all the jobs that had to be done were done.

Eli wandered around the ship almost aimlessly. He would so love to not sleep and to have the whole thing to himself. He wandered along corridors, touching the walls as he went and looking through the various port windows. Before he knew it he found himself on the shuttle. The one place he hadn't been because there was no cause for him to be there. He sat down in the pilot seat. He looked out from his elevated position and thought of how amazing it was. He smiled as he looked through the windows at the amazing colours of the ever changing world of space around him. He decided one more night, he wanted one more night on Destiny. Slowly he got up and made his way to his room. He crawled into his bunk and into his luxurious bed. Yes one more night. He looked at his hand held. The alarm was set as always and with a smile on his face he closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.


	15. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Eli rose suddenly from his bed banged his head on the ceiling above his bunk and slammed back down. Bewildered he looked around. It was dark. It wasn't dark on the observation deck and where was space? He always saw space when he woke up. He began to panic and then realised suddenly where he was. He was in his own bunk and back in his own room. He'd spent so long on the observation deck , his room was strange to him. Eli breathed a big sigh and decided he had to get out of bed. This was his last day of wandering around on his own. There were very few jobs to do now. Breakfast was his first port of call and he remembered that it was one of those wafers he had found. He hurried to the mess hall and there, all on its own was a foil package.

Eli sat down and opened the package and as the day before he snapped the wafer into small pieces and one by one he put them in his mouth and savoured the exquisite taste.

"Mmmmm" Eli mumbled. His mouth full of wafer.

He wondered whether he should take some in the pod with him and then wondered whether that would compromise the system and instead decided that when he awoke , the first place he was going to go was the storage room. Eli finished eating and felt quite full and wondered whether his stomach had shrunk or whether they were actually very filling?

Before doing anything Eli decided to sit for short time on the observation deck and have a look at his favourite view. Once he had been asleep and awoken , the view would be very different indeed and he would be many miles away in another galaxy. Its something that he sometime found difficult to comprehend. He thought back to the time that O Neill had turned up at his home and introduced him to this amazing adventure. It had taken far away from the safety of his computer games and looking after his Mom and thrown him into an unknown, strange , exciting as well as dangerous place. Looking back he wouldn't swap it for anything. What stories he would have to tell when he got home. That's if he ever got home. But now wasn't the time to dwell on those thoughts. Eli had the last of his jobs to do.

Eli went to the gate room first and made sure the space suit he had used was safely stowed away and that he hadn't left anything out. Then he decided to make his way to the bridge. He wanted to do some last minute checking, he wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Eli made his way along the corridors to the bridge, inspecting pipes and inspection covers as he went. It was as if he was putting off the inevitable. He ambled up to the bridge and as he approached he saw Franklins door was again open. He stood next to the door and had a good look at it. Then he pressed the door console to close and it slid shut. He pressed it again and it opened. Maybe, Eli thought to himself, it was a software glitch. Maybe it was dust in the control panel. He reached for his small screw driver and to his dismay realised it was still in his old clothes, as his new ones didn't have pockets. With a sigh he made his way back to his bunk. Sure enough, when he searched his pile of clothes the screw driver appeared from one of the pockets and Eli retrieved it before making his way back to Franklin's room.

Once there he carefully lifted the plate on the control panel and blew into it to see if there was any dust in there. But it actually looked pretty clean. He had his trusty hand held with him so he plugged the console into it to complete a diagnostic. There was nothing showing up there either. Eli decided this was to be his highest priority when he emerged from his sleep. He was determined to find the problem and fix it. Eli carefully replaced the cover to the console before having one more look around Franklins room. Then he exited the room and made for the bridge.

Eli looked around the bridge before sitting in his favourite seat and beginning the check list for the journey Destiny was embarking on. The battle with the Nakai had done little damage if any and Eli was pleased with that. He checked all the systems ready for the shut down before deciding it was time to make his way to the pod room. He was tired and weary and sleep seemed very inviting.

He rose from his chair and pressed the button that raised the shields on the bridge observation window. It rose blocking his view of space. Eli took one more look around as systems began switching to sleep mode. He walked out of the bridge and turned just once to look behind him. Lights were winking out as their systems slept their long sleep.

Eli made his way down the long corridors to the pod room. As he walked down the corridors the lights switched off, plunging the corridors behind him into darkness. He soon reached the pod room and walked over to Colonel Young's pod. Then he remembered the keno! Eli did an about turn and made his way quickly back to his bunk. He picked up his clothes and searched through them. But he couldn't find the keno. In a slight panic Eli searched again, as he did he looked up and there was the keno on his desk. He picked it up and hurried baack to the pod room. He again looked at Colonel Young and then carefully opened his hand to reveal the keno. This he placed near the Colonels pod, he was sure to see it there and retrieve it. He patted the pod and then went to his own.

He stroked the sides of the pod lovingly,then placed his hand held at the door way, this was going to be his resting place for a while. Carefully he stepped in and looked over at Colonel Young and waited for the pod to activate. Nothing. Eli waited a moment longer looking around the pod with his eyes...Nothing. Then he took a breath and stepped out of the pod. He pressed a couple of buttons on the pods console. The pod was working and all was in order. He rubbed his face with his hands and decided to try again. He stepped inside and looked back at his friends before turning around and centering himself. He waited again. Nothing. Eli sighed again and stepped out of the pod and made his way to the main console. This would tell him if anything was wrong. He pushed a few buttons and read the information. According to that too there was nothing wrong.

Eli was beginning to panic. If he died his Mom would be all on her own, he would die alone. Bile rose in his throat and Eli really began to panic. All that had ever gone wrong flashed through his head.

"Noooooooo!" Eli wailed.

He forced his hands through his hair and he pulled it. Tears of frustration and anger began to fall.

"What more do you want of me! Havent I done enough!" He shouted.

Then he slipped to the floor and began to rock.

"Eli" whispered a voice.

But Eli didn't hear it. He was so caught up in his frustration and anger. He was so so tired, he didn't think he could take any more.

"Eli" whispered the voice again.

This time Eli looked up. He had heard something. He was sure of it. He wiped his sleeve across his face and sniffed. He was going mad too he thought.

"Eli" said the disembodied voice, with a bit more force this time.

It was coming from the shadows at the other end of the pod room. Eli got up off the floor and hid around the other side of the console. He looked at the other end of the room and swore he could see the shadows moving. Was it Rush ? He wondered and looked over at Rush's pod. But he was still in there. Why didn't he think of carrying a weapon. He thought back to all the old horror films. It was at this bit in the film when the hero got torn to pieces by some rabid alien.

"Please don't be afraid. I'm an old friend and I want to help you" said the voice.

"Who are you?" questioned Eli

From the shadows came a figure. Hazy at first. Eli could see short ,dark,curly hair and the figure looked like it was wearing clothes similar to his but much finer. They flowed and seemed silk like and were in creams and browns and white. The figure came closer and Eli looked incredulously at him. He recognised him but it couldn't be, could it?

"Franklin?" Eli questioned.

"Well you knew me as Franklin. Yes" said the figure.

His voice was measured and calm. Slowly the figure of Franklin came towards Eli. He was thinner than Eli remembered and he had a more noble bearing about him.

"You cant be Franklin. He's Dead" Eli thought back to the time when they had discovered the chair. It was considered dangerous because no one was sure what it could do to a human. But Franklin was a rash person who wanted to rush things sometimes. This had led to his death when he sat in the chair and it had killed him.

"This might be a little difficult to explain. I am Franklin but I am different from the one you knew. I didn't die in the sense you mean, instead I ascended" Explained Franklin.

"You mean like Dr Jackson ascended?" questioned Eli.

"Yes, in a way. But Eli Ive been here a long time watching over you and helping you when I could" replied Franklin.

Eli's panic was turning to anger, just like when they discovered that Rush knew about the bridge and told no one.

"You've been here all along! Why didn't you help me then! You must have seen me struggling" shouted Eli. Tears of frustration once again staining his face.

"Eli,I must explain something to you. My hands are tied. I am not supposed to interfere in your affairs. I'm watched by the others who could punish me cruelly if they knew I was here helping you. I did what I could. I updated your soft ware and helped you discover items I knew you would have trouble finding"

"You mean the things off the list, that just appeared?"

"Yes those Eli"

"Now we don't have long. I have been here ever since I disappeared. I have helped where I could. But Eli this must be our secret. No one must know I am here or the others will send me away." Pleaded Franklin.

"Ok I can do that, so what do you want me to do now?" asked Eli.

"Well I think its about time you thought about going to sleep, don't you?" said Franklin.

"I'm so tired" said Eli "Im so looking forward to my sleep. But the pod wont work." Eli replied.

"What it needs, is someone to push the control from the outside, that's all. I can do that Eli" assured franklin.

Eli stared at Franklin. Something so simple but because he was so tired he hadn't even thought of it.

"Can I have one more minute?" asked Eli

"Of course Eli. Whenever youre ready" was the reply.

Eli took a few short breaths and retrieved the hand held from the main console and placed it at the doorway to his pod. Then he smoothed his clothes and rubbed his face. He knew he must look a sight for anyone. He felt like he had been to hell and back.

"Ok…Im ready " Said Eli.

Eli stepped into the pod. Once more he looked around at his companions. Then he entered the pod and centered himself once he leant forward.

"Will you be around when we all wake up?" asked Eli.

"If I can. I will watch over you for the rest of your journey. Im proud of you Eli. When you came aboard this ship and started this journey, you were a boy. You have now proved yourself a man" replied Franklin.

Eli stood back in the pod and flt proud that his accomplishments had been recognised. A smile played across his face and became frozen in time as Franklin worked the controls and Ei was frozen in time, along with his ship mates.

"Sleep well Eli" said Franklin as he left the life pod room . All the lights dimmed and then went out. The only light in the room was the glow of the control panels on the pods. Everyone was in their deep sleep. Destiny arced her way through space. The ship dark and silent…for now


	16. Chapter 17

Chapter 17.

Eli's eyes fluttered open and he tried to stand but he couldn't, instead he fell head long through space. His arms flailed, as he seemed to fall in slow motion. He had no idea where he was or even which way was up. Suddenly his head made contact with the cold, unforgiving metal floor. Stunned Eli just lay there for a short time, still trying to figure out where he was and what he was doing there? His head rang with the force it had taken and he was sure there was a lump coming up where he had hit his head. His injured hand had exploded in a world of pain at the same time. Tentatively Eli felt his head. Yes, there was a definite bump. He rolled over and saw the ceiling of the pod room. Now, he knew where he was. When he first awoke he was sure he was lying down in his own bed. From the vantage point of the floor Eli looked around. Everyone was still in their life pods! Oh no! A terrible thought fled through Eli's mind. His pod had malfunctioned again. Slowly Eli rolled over again and slowly got onto his hands and knees before finally getting himself to his feet. He staggered at first and had to find his footing. Then he took a look around.

Colonel Young was sleeping away along with Rush and his other crew mates. Eli looked around puzzled. The lights were very low and he could hardly see where he was going. He turned around to see if there was anything around him but there was nothing. Frowning, he walked over to his pod. He checked the systems on his pod. It was working perfectly then he reached down and picked up his faithful hand held and turned it on. It spluttered into life and he had to wipe a thin film of dust from its screen. He looked at Destiny's data base to see if that told him anything. He pressed a few more buttons to see if there were any problems with Destiny.

"All systems are functioning within their given parameters" Eli said out loud .He made a gesture of hopelessness "And that tells me exactly nothing!" He pressed a few buttons here and there but got nowhere.

"Looks like I'm going to have to see for myself" He said to himself and he began walking towards the door of the pod room still unsure of what he was going to find. As he walked, he pressed various buttons on the hand held but nothing seemed to be the answer he wanted. He reached the door and pressed the door control and was answered with a beep. He tried again and was rewarded with another beep. Eli looked up towards the ceiling in exasperation

"Give me a break will you!" he shouted "I've been asleep for I don't know how long and I haven't got a clue what's going on…" Eli scratched his head and sat down by the door. His head hurt, his hand hurt and now he felt hungry, great! He wiped his face with his hand and pushed more buttons on the hand held.

Then he found it. His shoulders slumped in resignation. Why could nothing be simple? He looked at the hand held again. Apparently the corridor outside the pod room was sealed off as a security precaution. That meant either the ship had been boarded or that there was something extremely wrong with Destiny, either way it was really bad. Then he had a thought…

"Franklyn! Franklyn, are you here?" Eli shouted into the air. Then he waited. Nothing. "Franklyn!" He shouted again. Again, nothing.

"Ok, have it your own way then" Eli said out loud. "Looks like I'm on my own on this one then"

Eli looked around him, wondering what his next move was going to be. How was he going to get to the bridge if the door was sealed? There must be some sort of access other than the main corridor. He pulled up the schematics for the pod room and studied them; he ran his finger across the screen. Then he stabbed it with his finger.

"That's it, a servicing conduit. It might be a tight squeeze. Hmmm, only one way to find out" voiced Eli.

He began to walk around the pod room, following the schematic on the screen. He stopped occasionally, studying the hand held and looking around. Eventually he found what he was looking for. He looked up and down the wall but couldn't see any door. He put down his hand held and began to feel along the wall. Nothing, nothing, was where it was supposed to be according to the hand held. Up and down the wall Eli walked, feeling his way as he went. Still, nothing. He picked up his hand held and studied it again. He sighed, and looked again. He couldn't find anything and Eli was getting increasingly frustrated. In his frustration he hit the wall with his fist. There was a hiss and a panel appeared, it sank into the wall and disappeared sideways. There in front of him, was the conduit. Hesitantly Eli took a look inside. It was pitch black and he couldn't see what was up and down the conduit. He pulled his head back out. He needed light. He couldn't risk walking into something that dark. What if there was a drop he didn't see and he fell severely injuring himself or even killing himself. Eli looked around him again. Where was he going to find a source of light? Maybe the main console that operated the life pods had something like a torch. He made his way back to the main console and looked around. There was nothing. He had been really good and put away all the tools he had used and made sure everything was tidy. Again frustration reared its ugly head. Why had he been so careful? But there must be something surely? He went back to the conduit and looked inside again. His hand held gave a small amount of light but not enough to see down the length of the conduit. But it would have to do.

Gingerly Eli stepped over the wall and then pulled the rest of him in. Yes it was a squeeze but he could walk down there. He just had to be careful. Eli shuffled down the conduit, as soon as he left the doorway, it began to close.

"No!" shouted Eli. But it was too late and the last shafts of light disappeared. Eli stood in the pitch black and let eyes become used to what light there was. He actually wondered whether or not to panic but he'd been through so much in the last few weeks, this was just another 'thing' happening to him. He reached for where the door had been but he couldn't find the door again. He patted his hands for a few moments before finally deciding that it was hopeless.

"Great, just great!" Eli said to himself. He stood for a few more moments in the dark, and then decided that he would have to move. He looked at the screen on the hand held to see where to go. He had to head towards his right, so off he went and then to his surprise small lights began to appear on the walls. They became brighter as he made his way down the corridor. It was really warm and the walls of the conduit had pipes running down their sides. Every now and again there was what looked like a junction box. Eli looked at his schematics and counted the junction boxes. There were three more before he had to turn left.

Eli pushed past pipes and junction boxes; the ground was even at least, the odd pipe snagged on his clothes, other parts of the conduit allowed an easier passage. After what seemed like hours, he finally counted his third box. He looked down to his hand held, he had to turn left but he didn't check his footing or look ahead and he tripped down a small stair as the level of the conduit changed.

"Dam" Eli shouted and he tried to bend down to rub his ankle but couldn't reach the walls were a little closer here and had to make do with rubbing one foot against the other. He looked down at his schematic and figured there wasn't that much further to. It was getting increasingly warmer too, sweat began to appear on his face and the hair on the back of his head was soaked. He looked at his hand held and then along the corridor, four conduit boxes were between here and the end. Eli pushed on getting hotter and hotter; finally he reached the last box and then stood there. Where was the door? He began to feel around where it should be but couldn't find it. This day was getting better and better he thought to himself. He felt around the walls again. Nothing and it wasn't as if he could go back, he couldn't find the door there either. Eli was getting angrier and angrier and hotter and hotter, sweat was pouring off him.

"Think! Think" he said to himself. Then he remembered he had banged the wall originally. He worked his way back to where the door should be and began to hammer the wall with his fists and with a hiss a door appeared, pulled itself towards Eli and the disappeared sideways. Without further thought, Eli shoved his head to look at where he was. He didn't recognise the room but decided he would have to get out anyway. He stepped over the ledge and slowly pulled his other leg clear turning at the same time so he could hold the door way. The door began to close almost taking his fingers with it. He pulled them away just in time, as he regained his balance.

Eli looked around him. He couldn't remember ever being here before so he consulted his hand held. It wasn't too far to where the explored parts of the ship were but it was going to be a bit of a hike to get to the bridge. Before leaving the room he had a good look around. It was like the other rooms they all had except this didn't have a bed instead it had a desk and on the desk was a console sunken into its top. This intrigued Eli and he went around the desk and sat down. As he sat the console blinked into life. It showed the whole of the ship and all its interiors on a schematic. Then it centred down to where he was sitting.

"Wow" Eli's eyes were like saucers. He had found a new toy to play with and for a few minutes he pushed buttons and looked around the ship. He could even operate kenos from here. Then it struck him. This could actually be the captain's cabin! He looked around and noticed a curtain in the far corner shrouded in the shadows. He got up and walked over to it and pulled it back. It revealed a door. For a moment Eli just stood there, unsure of what he should be doing. Like with Chloe's room, he knew he was about to enter what could be someone's private quarters. He hesitated a moment longer before touching the door control and watching the door slowly slide back.

At first, Eli just looked inside then bent to look further in and he stood on tip toes to see further in. Eventually curiosity got the better of him and he stepped in. He looked around him. There was a bed with one of those multi coloured covers on and at the far end of the room was a window. Not just a port hole a proper big window. Eli whistled.

"Wow, a room with a view" said an astonished Eli and he walked to the window and that's when he noticed. They were no longer in FTL. They were hanging in space. Not moving. He looked at the star field and the gorgeous blue planet below.

It was then that Eli panicked…


	17. Chapter 18

.Chapter 18

Eli's jaw dropped open as he took in the vista in front of him. A lead weight dropped in his stomach. In complete panic he looked around for somewhere to go and then paced the room. He pulled his hands through his hair and began to mumble to himself then remembered his hand held. He looked how far it was to the bridge. He had to fix this and fast. A schematic came up showing the shortest route to the bridge and then Eli began to run. He ran like he'd never ran before, up and down corridors almost skidding on the corners, banging open the door controls as he went and hopping from foot to foot when he had to wait for the ancient doors to slowly open. They were so incredibly slow. Once or twice he had to back track because he went the wrong way. Most of his route went through parts of the ship they had yet to explore. But he didn't have time to stop and admire what he was seeing.

"Come on, come on!" shouted Eli impatiently. Waiting wasn't something he had time for. He skidded round another corner and then came to a halt as the door he had tried to open, didn't. He banged the control to open the door and nothing happened. He tried again and again there was no response.

"NO, no, no, no, not now!" He shouted in fury. Thoughts flew through his mind as different scenario's played in his head. Where were the Nakai? Where they about to attack? Why hadn't he been told they had dropped out of FTL when he first woke up? Maybe that was why he had been woken, to put things right and to carry on with their journey. What if they had been boarded? He quickly flicked off the panels cover and plugged in the hand held and ran a diagnostic. It had shorted. Quickly Eli took the door mechanism apart and just as quickly re assembled it and then put back the door panel and hit it, the door slowly opened.

Eli ran again towards the bridge, looking around in panic as he did. He had to get them moving. Then another thought entered his head. Were the shields actually up? He checked on his hand held and sighed, at least they were still working. Soon Eli reached the bridge and again hit the door mechanism to open it. The door slid open and Eli ran onto the bridge. He sat at his favourite console and then brought up the latest ship report. At first he got the same response as before, that the ship was working within its parameters. What the hell was that all about, Eli thought to himself? This wasn't their mission. Their mission was to travel to the next galaxy before dropping out of FTL. Eli didn't have a clue where they were now. He brought up star chart, after star chart. None of them was the galaxy he wanted or that they were aiming for. Then the possibility that they might be lost hit him. Eli began a search for where they were, for any sort of familiar stars. Then he wondered what else he could do?

He needed help but until he had a definite answer he didn't want to wake up any of the crew. It might just be a glitch, for all he knew. They might even have reached their destination, except Destiny didn't recognise any of the local stars. He didn't want to move Destiny until he knew for certain where they were.

"Ok, ok, ok"Eli tried to settle himself. "ok I have to think logically about this" He had to think out loud, he had to voice his concerns , there were so many thoughts going round in his head. Eli took a long shuddering breath and tried to calm himself. Then decided to get up and walk round. He pulled his hands through his hair and pulled his hands across his face and rubbed his eyes. He looked around and realised that the window shields weren't open. He pressed the control to open them and looked down at the beautiful blue planet, being revealed below him. He looked at it a little wistfully. It looked a lot like home. But there wasn't time for this now. He had to find out where they were and what was going on.

Eli sat in the main control chair and looked at the planet below. He took a long sigh. If it wasn't for their present circumstances, he would be down on the planet like a shot. But the circumstances weren't normal. Eli pulled one of the consoles towards him and asked again for information from Destiny and met the same brick wall. According to Destiny, nothing was wrong. Maybe he was approaching this from the wrong angle? Eli sat himself more comfortably in the chair and stretched, lacing his fingers in front of him and heard his knuckles crack. He meant business.

Maybe he was asking the wrong questions? He could hear Colonel Young asking him to keep it simple and to focus on what they wanted. He began to ask Destiny a question, what happened before they arrived? For a few seconds, information flashed across the screen and his answer was revealed. But it wasn't the one he wanted. Destiny had been given a course correction and she had obeyed. Well that was a bit of a revelation Eli thought to himself, now for the next question…By whom? Again Destiny seemed to think about this and again she answered … by the One. Eli just stared at the screen, The One? He frowned and again wondered whether he was asking the right questions…"Ok, here goes" He said out loud. He typed in the question wondering what response he might get…Who is the One? Again Destiny took some time to think about this.

The answer appeared after a few minutes. 'The One is going to restore balance to the universe and will emerge at the time of greatest despair '

"Oh boy" though Eli, "we're in trouble." Eli sighed and held his head in his hands for a moment. Then looked at the planet again. Had something taken over the computers of Destiny, he wondered? This was getting more confusing by the minute. Eli decided he had to try something. His hands flew across the keyboard. He asked Destiny to reverse her course and follow the course they had taken back to their original position. Doubling back should be a doddle thought Eli, quite pleased with himself. He input the last bit of data that Destiny should need and pressed the button to plot the course so they could head home. Nothing.

'This was getting better and better' Eli thought to himself. He tried again and this time was informed by Destiny that he didn't have the proper authority to take such actions. He tried using his security pass word, only to be informed again that he didn't have the authority to take those actions. Eli looked at the ceiling as if the answer to the question was there, and then looked out at the planet below. He took a large breath and decided just sitting here was not going to help. He needed to think; he drummed his fingers on the console then pushed himself out of the chair. He looked around in frustration and knew he had to find his way into this command control. He was just about to try when he heard a noise behind him. He looked around but there was nothing there. He was just about to type something in when again he heard a noise behind him. This time he got out of the chair and looked around the whole of the bridge, nothing. Eli was sure he hadn't just imagined it. He was about to sit back in his chair, convinced that he had heard things, when again there was a noise. He looked around the bridge once more but there was nothing. Eli walked around the bridge a second time looking under consoles and again found nothing. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He was sure he wasn't alone. Then he wondered whether or not they had been boarded. This was no good. He needed kenos to search the ship. He went to one of the consoles and input a series of commands. Silently around the ship kenos began to appear and begin their almost silent journey around the ships. One by one they searched the empty corridors, most of which were in darkness. Eli looked at the images sent back and searched them for any clue of anyone or anything that shouldn't have been there. In the end he couldn't sit there any longer. He input more commands to alert him if anything unusual appeared and then he left the bridge to take a walk and look or himself.

Eli found himself heading for the observation deck and the mess hall. He realised he was hungry and needed to eat. He went into the observation deck and was awestruck by the planet seen so near and so large and in so much detail. Eli put his hand towards the window to touch it. He still couldn't believe his eyes and yet he couldn't understand why he was so awestruck. He had seen many planets before but for some reason this planet alone struck a chord deep within him. Something he couldn't shake or find reason for. He eventually shook himself out of his revelry as his stomach growled from the lack of food. Eli headed to the mess hall and looked at the tins that were still there. He didn't think he would be doing this so soon. He chose one at random and then took a seat and opened the tin. It contained fruit. What a surprise he thought to himself. He picked up his spoon and noticed the dust so he wiped it on the bottom of his tunic before using it to eat. It wasn't long before he had finished his meal and he again set off to look around the ship. He decided to go to the gate room and have a look in there.

He soon arrived at the gate room and pushed the control button to open the door and it opened slowly. Eli entered and began to walk around the room. Nothing seemed to be any different his suit was where he had stored it. On a whim he went to the control console for the gate and flicked it on. He pulled up the records and his hair really stood on end and worms seemed to be writhing in his stomach. According to the log the gate had been used several hours ago. Eli worked the time back and realised it was just before he had woken. Now fear really did rear its ugly head. Eli tried to ask Destiny on whose authority had it been used only to be told he didn't have the right clearance to inform him. This was getting weirder by the minute. But who could have used the gate? Everyone was asleep or were they? Eli used the controls in order to access the pod room, everything was as it should be, and the crew were all in stasis. That was good but something kept niggling at the back of his mind and he couldn't put a finger on what it was. The next thing he had to ask was had someone gated in or gated out from the ship. He looked at the log, they had gated out. Eli stood and thought for a moment. There was nothing to it, whether it was now or later, Eli was going to have to go and input the coordinates last used and hope and pray that it was the planet below and not something horrible and life threatening. Then he thought again, even if it was life threatening, it wasn't as if he hadn't met that threat before. Eli decided, he was going but he needed some things first.

He decided he had better go and get himself some of that gorgeous wafer; it was light and filling, ideal if he was traipsing round an unknown planet. He decided to collect a few kenos too. They would be really useful as scouts and before he passed through the gate he would send one through to make sure it was safe. Then he thought about what might happen if he didn't get back at all. What would happen to the crewe? What if he got down on the planet and Destiny left? That wasn't something he would like to consider. No, he had to plan this carefully and not charge headlong into he didn't know where.

Eli though again, then slapped his forehead with his hand.

"What an idiot I am" he said to himself. "I was that busy thinking about going to the planet, I never even thought of scanning it first. Pull yourself together"

Eli knew he couldn't be making stupid mistakes now. He made his way to the bridge and looked once more at the blue planet. He went to his favourite console and his hands began to fly across the keyboard asking various questions of Destiny's scanners. Then in the middle of the room a beautiful 3d image appeared of the planet below and orbiting around it was Destiny. It was a tiny speck compared to the planet and then Eli realised they were in a synchronised orbit. Eli got up out of his chair and picked up his hand held before walking towards the 3d image. He typed in something into the handheld and the 3d planet became a representation of just Destiny and the spot it was synchronised with. Eli walked closer and looked. He put in more questions and this time a bigger representation of the spot below Destiny appeared. At first it just looked like a forest, reaching for miles and miles. But when he looked again he could just see some sort of architecture sticking out, just a little, from the top branches of the trees. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. If there were buildings, then there was a likelihood there was or had been life on the planet. In that split second of looking Eli made the biggest decision of his life. He was going to investigate. He again scanned for signs of life; the forest was teeming with life so that was no help. In places the walls of the buildings were so dense he couldn't get a reading. So that was no help either.

Quickly he made his way around the ship, first to collect kenos then to collect the sweet wafers, he looked around him as he went as if he was going to bump into something, but the kenos hadn't seen anything. According to them the ship was dark and quiet. To Eli's ears too quiet. There was something that wasn't quite right but he couldn't put his finger on it. He went to his room and picked up his rucksack and deposited everything in. Then he had another thought, there was a likelihood he wouldn't make it back. He took one of the kenos from his pocket and quickly garbled a message into it. He told them briefly what had happened and where he was going and he also told them if he wasn't back not to follow. The decision was made and Eli repeated the sequence of characters to open the gate and send him to who knew where.

The gate turned this way and that until finally with a huge explosion of sound the event horizon shot forward and then rested within the giant metal rings of the Stargate. Then with great trepidation and the beginnings of a little excitement Eli looked back at Destiny and then disappeared through the gate. Within the seconds the event horizon disappeared and the gate room became darker once more. A shadow could be seen disturbing the dust and sending motes high into the air. The ship became silent, the air still as if anticipating something.


	18. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Eli felt himself being pulled through space and at the same time realised he hadn't sent a keno first, so he had no idea where he was going to come out. He might not even come out at the planet. He realised he had been so hell bent on finding out what was going on that he had now put himself in great danger but it was too late now he was on his way to who knew where and that was that. Then he was there. He emerged from the event horizon and he looked around to get his bearings before everywhere went dark. He had a torch in his pocket and he immediately turned it on and began to look around.

The room he had entered looked very old. Dust was in thick layers on everything. Dust flew through the beam of light and Eli coughed. It was as if there had been a snow storm in the room caused by the vortex opening. He shone the torch around and in the murky darkness spotted what looked like a DHD and a set of doors beyond that. He shone the torch around some more and saw the walls were decorated with swirls and curves, their beauty faded by the dirt of ages and the layers of dust. He shone the torch back down in front of him to light his way and as he was about to begin walking when ,he saw a set of footprints. Eli's hair prickled on the back of his neck and he could feel goose bumps beginning to rise and involuntarily he shivered. He hadn't even thought about not being alone. He had to make a choice, either he stayed and discovered what there was here or he turned back right now and return to Destiny. Eli didn't think he was prepared for any of this. He was in a quandary. He began to second guess himself. If he stayed he could be in real danger but at the same time he would be in danger on Destiny. He wondered who the footprints belonged to and there were only one set of footprints.

Eli took a deep breath and made the decision to carry on. He was here now and he carried a couple of kenos, surely they could alert him of danger, true he hadn't armed himself but then he thought to himself he didn't do guns. Well only on computer games and the big guns of Destiny. No he was going to have to be cautious and careful. Eli looked about him some more. There was nothing here that was going to tell him about what this place was or why Destiny had been brought here. He was going to have to find that out for himself. He began to walk cautiously to the door on the way past he took a quick look at the DHD it didn't look like anyone had used it recently. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, just like everything else. Mind you that didn't tell him that much. He used his hand held to tell him everything and work the gate. His hand held was in his ruck sack. He needed both hands at the moment. He shone the torch at the door mechanism. It was similar to Destinys but not the same. Well he had come this far. He pushed the door control and then stood back by the side wall. The door opened almost silently and slowly. It seemed to take forever for it to open. With a lot of trepidation Eli cautiously peeped around the entrance and into the space beyond the door. It too was dark but there seemed to be some light coming from somewhere because it wasn't completely pitch black. He shone the torch up and down the corridor that was immediately outside the door. The walls had the same swirls and curves decorating the walls. They were like the room Eli was emerging from, encrusted by the dirt of ages and layers of looked down at the floor and could see the footprints in the dust. But they weren't quite as clear as those in the gate room. Now he had to make another decision. Whether to follow the footprints or to go the other way. Eli unconsciously rubbed at his burnt hand that was beginning to itch as it stretched with being used. He hadn't really thought about his injury since the first moment he woke up. Maybe he should have changed the bandages. Well too late for that now, it would have to wait. Eli looked up and down the corridor and decided to follow the footprints.

Eli hugged the walls of the corridor listening for any noises, he got his hand held out of his ruck sack and juggled that with the torch in order to set a keno off ahead of him. The corridor curved away from him and he couldn't see further than a few feet away. The keno went around the corner and was lost from sight. Eli looked at his hand held and could see the walls curving away and then ending at another doorway. Eli called the keno back and pocketed it. Then inched down the corridor towards the next door. When he got there he put his ear to the door and then stood up again. These doors were like Destinys and to be honest he wouldn't be able to hear anything. He looked down but couldn't see any footprints except his own. Maybe he was on his own then. Eli took another breath and pushed the door control. As before the door opened almost silently. It was a little lighter in this area so Eli put away his torch before looking up and down the next corridor. This one went straight down for a few yards before coming to a stop at another set of doors. Eli looked around and behind him and listened for a couple of seconds. As quietly as he could he made his way to the next set of doors.

He soon reached the doors and let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. This was real scary, though Eli to himself. He raised his hand to push the door control and stopped. He fumbled in his pocket for the keno and set it ready. He pushed the door control and then stood back in the shadow of the wall as the door opened slowly and silently. What Eli saw next blew him away.

The keno was sending images back of an open area full of light but not ordinary light it was a rainbow of colours so bright , that just looking at it almost blinded Eli in the shadow of the corridor. The keno hovered for a few seconds and then disappeared in to the light. Elis eyes slowly adjusted themselves to the light and then he could make out a huge open space with a massive domed roof made of something transparent that almost split the light into its component colours. It was amazing and breath taking and not at all what Eli imagined was here. The keno didnt show any signs of life and Eli entered the room. The light bathed Eli in a rainbow of colours and almost seemed to sparkle, making everything it landed on sparkle too. Eli looked up at the beautiful dome. It was made up of many transparent facets. Each one seemed to be a slightly different colour from the next but it was so subtle. It was like a huge diamond set in the roof of the building. Eli looked up and turned in circles absolutely amazed. His mouth had dropped open as he saw this wonderous sight above him. Eventually, Eli's neck began to ache and he had to look around him. At first he couldn't see much as the light had so overloaded his eyes, it took him a few seconds to be able to see around him. Again Eli was amazed.

The space looked like a large piazza, with walls that rose high into the air. The swirls and circles seemed to almost be fluid as they worked their way up towards the dome. To Eli it was the most awe inspiring and beautiful thing he had ever seen. It looked almost organic and alive. He had never seen anything like it in the whole of his life. Around the edges of this large space were benches and tables and seats and most amazing of all, there was no dust. Everything looked like it had been made yesterday. Eli walked around the edge of this circular space and as he did he dragged his hand along the walls. They were smooth, perfect and almost warm to the touch. Eli felt like he could stay here forever it was just so perfect and beautiful.

Eli soon found himself at the other side of this space and felt loathe to leave it but he had to carry on. He stood in front of the door at the other side of this piazza and made the keno ready to move ahead of him again. He pushed the door control and set up the keno ready to move on. He stood in the shadow of the wall and pushed the door control to open it. Slowly and silently it opened and the Keno floated through. There were no signs of life and cautiously Eli stepped through. This corridor was flooded with the light from the piazza and it looked just like the one before. This was a straight corridor and Eli could see all the way ahead of him. Like the room he had just walked through, there was no dust here and Eli wondered why? Was it something to do with the light? But then the door had been shut, that posed another question, did that mean that this corridor was used? Eli decoded to carry on. He reached the end of the corridor and made ready to exit this corridor and carry on with his journey. He pushed the door control and the keno went ahead of him, Eli stood in the shadow of the wall and looked at the images the keno was sending back. There were no signs of life or anything that posed a risk and Eli entered this new space. This space looked like a hangar. At one end were two huge doors, as tall as the space, which was taller than the piazza he had just come from. It was a vast space , again it had a transparent dome. But this didn't gleam like the one before although it did seem to filter the light somehow. It looked like it should house something but Eli couldn't even guess at what apart from it was big, very big. The walls had the same swirls that seemed almost fluid moving and building towards the dome. Eli saw a set of double doors at the other side and Eli walked along the walls until he reached the other side. Then looking back and behind him,he prepared himself to discover the next step of his journey. He had the keno wait at the door, he pushed the control and stood once more in the shadow of the wall.

The door had opened up to the outside. He saw the forest he had seen from space. The trees were amazingly tall and thick. Sunlight dappled down from the leaf canopy and it was warm. There was a slight breeze and he could hear the rustle of leaves and then he heard bird song or something that sounded like birds. His mouth formed a wow. He looked high into the canopy sheltering his eyes with his hand. He was speechless, everything was so beautiful. This was really weird he thought to himself, very surreal, he actually thought he might be dreaming. This place was so far removed from everything he had ever known. Then he realised he had grass below his feet and then that he could smell the fresh air. It felt like forever since he had smelled real ,fresh air. He felt the breeze on his face and a smile began to appear on his face. This place just made him so happy. He decided this might be the time to have a break to take everything in and have something to eat and send the keno off on a bit of reconnaissance .

He set the keno off on its way and then sat on the grass and rooted in his ruck sack to find his wafers and the small bottle of water he had brought to drink. He looked around him at the amazing world around him. Then as he ate he wondered why Destiny had been brought here? He took a bite into his wafer and stopped. He was sure he had heard something. He held his breath and looked at what the keno was sending back. It hadn't found anything unusual. There was life but the readings were very small and there didn't seem to be anything that was humanoid. He looked about him but couldn't see anything, then from between the trees emerged what looked like a very small deer. It had been sniffing at the ground but now it caught Elis scent. Eli kept very still he didn't want to frighten it. He didn't know if it was dangerous or not. He knew looks could be deceiving. The animal eyed him up and down and seemed to cock its head to one side as if deciding something. It put its nose in the air and sniffed at slowly it made its way towards Eli. Eli had a huge grin on his face as it came closer. It approached him and again sniffed the air. Eli didn't move a muscle. He hadn't ever got close to anything like this on earth. It was another top experience to file away Eli thought to himself. The deer like animal got nearer and again sniffed the air and Eli realised it could smell his wafer. Moving very slowly Eli broke off a small piece of wafer. The deer jumped back but kept its eye on Eli and then approached him again. It sniffed at the wafer in his hand and slowly nibbled at it. Eli's grin became bigger as the deer ate the wafer, it nibbled at it delicately and savoured the taste. Eli reached over with his other hand and dared to touch the deer. At first it shied away and then as its confidence built , it allowed him to stroke its muzzle. It was about to approach closer when a childs laugh could be heard echoing from the trees and the deer turned and looked into the forest before looking once more at Eli then turning , trotted away into the undergrowth. Eli watched it leave the scrambled to his feet and looked towards the forest from where the noise had come from. As he looked, he hastily packed all his belongings away. Unsure of what to do, Eli stood there and from the trees a ball appeared and rolled towards his feet. Eli stared at the ball and then looked towards the trees as a young boy came running out chasing after the ball and came to a sudden halt. Both Eli and the young boy stared eye to eye. Eli wasn't sure what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of,

"Hi, my names Eli" he stated quietly.


	19. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The boy just stood there staring at Eli. Eli stood and looked at the boy. He looked to be about 10 years old. What was most striking thing about him was that he had no hair at all. He had the most breath taking blue eyes with long lashes. He was dressed in a loose fitting t shirt type top It was almost like material in Eli's clothes and the only difference was the colour. Where Eli's clothes were a natural cream colour, the boys were darker. Eli wasn't sure what to do next. The boy decided that for him because he turned and ran.

"Please don't go!" said Eli. "I don't bite!"

But it was no good the boy had gone. Eli decided to follow him but didn't run. He just walked purposefully in the same direction as the boy had run. As he walked past the ball, he bent down and picked it up. He made his way through the undergrowth and found himself on a sort of worn path where the grass had been flattened by the passage of the young boy's feet. He carried on following this path until he came to some stones appearing in the earth. They weren't true stones realised as they were hexagonal. They were black in colour but when they caught the light they shone in a rainbow of colours just like oil on water. As he walked they became more frequent. He looked up at the leaf canopy and the sunlight dappled down. He felt the warmth on his face and it felt really good. Everything felt good.

Eli carried on walking and realised the stones were becoming more and more frequent and a path was forming. The hexagons were interlocked like a giant black honeycomb that glistened in the sunlight. It was spongy under his feet and it made him walk with a spring in his step. He had a smile on his face as he walked. This was one of the best times he could remember having. He could hear the rustling in the trees. It just felt so good and then without realising it he stepped into the open and he stopped. The sunlight streamed down and once more Eli was amazed at the sight before him.

He could see there were houses that almost seemed to grow from the trees. There were the swirls and curves that were repeated in the base Eli had just come from. Then he realised that the architecture of the buildings mimicked the natural growth of the trees and the trees almost seemed to grow from the houses. The trees were less frequent here and it seemed he had reached the end of the forest. Eli walked further into the sunlight and spotted the young boy standing in front of a much older man. The man was dressed similarly to the boy, but his clothes had a more formal cut to them. He had long hair that was braided with cottons and beads within the braids and it was streaked with silver. Next to him stood an older woman. She was attired in a similar way but the top was more of a tunic and it flowed in the small breeze. Her hair too was long and streaked with silver. She wore only a braid from the top of her head and the rest of her hair flowed down her back. It lifted in the breeze.

Eli held up the ball and offered it to the young boy, who looked up at the older man. The older man bent down and whispered in the boysboys' ear. Cautiously the boy stepped forward and walked towards Eli. Eli crouched down to the level of the boy as he approached and he offered the ball to him. Quietly and slowly the boy retrieved his ball, thenand then he turned and ran, passed the older people and disappeared into one of the houses. Eli raised himself up and looked at the two older people and smiled.

"Hello, I'm Eli. I'm a traveller, my ship is up there" and he pointed above him. The two older people looked to where he was pointing and then looked back at him. Eli felt totally inadequate. He hadn't a clue what to say or do. The older man stepped forward towards Eli and approached him. He stopped a few feet away.

"My name is Jethro. This is my home. You are welcome here" He said

"You speak English?" Eli asked.

"We speak many tongues. We are an ancient people and we will be glad to help any traveller in need. Please come with me, you must be tired and in need of some refreshment" replied Jethro. He gestured to the woman next to him. "This is my partner Lilly"

Lilly inclined her head to Eli then turned and led the way to one of the buildings. Jethro encouraged Eli to follow him and they made their way to one of the beautiful buildings. Eli took a closer look. The architecture wasn't something he had ever seen. Under all the branches and vines there were simple brick buildings that had been buried and become one with the natural world around them. On closer inspection Eli realised they were old, very old. Jethro approached a doorway that was open and waved Eli in. Inside the buildings were simple with clean lines. The furniture was almost rustic and Eli was led through a small hall into a larger living room. There were chairs surrounding a small table and Eli was encouraged to sit.

Lilly entered with a tray and some small glasses and a jug, full of amber liquid and placed it on the table between them. Then she proceeded to serve Eli, Jethro and herself with a drink. Then they sat back and looked at Eli. He took up the small glass and looked at it. He wasn't sure about trying something he hadn't had before.

"It's made from the local berries, it's very sweet and it will quench your thirst. Lilly makes it herself with a secret recipe handed down from generation to generation". Jethro looked at his partner and took her hand and smiled and patted the hand before releasing it and turning to Eli said "How can we help you?"

Eli took a small sip of the drink.

"Wow!" said an astonished Eli "That's really good!"

Lilly smiled and waited for Eli to speak again.

"To be honest I don't know where to start" said Eli "My story is a long one"

"Then begin at the beginning" Encouraged Jethro.

Eli found himself explaining about Destiny, their journey and the adventures they had experienced. He found himself talking about his Mom and how he missed her and then finally being left alone on Destiny to complete the repairs before finally sleeping. He didn't mention Franklyn though; he didn't want to frighten them. Jethro and Lilly sat there listening patiently, occasionally asking questions and making small comments. Eli suddenly realised it was getting dark. Small lamps lit themselves and the room was filled with a gentle light that seemed to reach every corner of the room.

"I'm so sorry, I've kept you talking so long!" he apologised. "I'm going to have to make my way back to the ship"

"You can stay; there is plenty of room here" Replied Jethro in an even tone. "Lilly can fix us something to eat. Come with me and I will show you where you can rest"

Jethro rose from the table and hesitantly Eli followed. He led Eli past another room and through to another open area. It had a transparent dome similar to the one in the base. The room was infused with the amazing colours of a sunset. Jethro carried on walking and led them out to another area with doors leading off. Jethro walked to one of the doors and opened it and encouraged Eli to enter. There was a simple bed and a dresser. The coverlet was a quilt made of many different colours, reds, golds and oranges. There was a window the full length of the wall to the ceiling and the view was out of this world. It looked over a cliff face and below was another grove of trees leading to a small river below. The sunlight flooded the room with pinks and golds.

"What a view" exclaimed Eli

"Stunning isn't it?" said Jethro."It's amazing what nature can create. There are facilities through there to wash and after that come on through to the eating area and we will have some supper"

"Thank you for this "replied Eli

"You're welcome" said Jethro as he left the room and closed the door behind him. Eli looked through the window at the amazing view before him. It was something you might find in those coffee table books. He put his ruck sack on the bed and went into the wash room. That was just amazing too. There was a shower a real shower. Eli couldn't help himself and he immediately stripped off and got in. All caution was blown away. The water was glorious and warm. Eli felt like he was in ecstasy. It had been so long since he had been in a real shower and there was soap too. He rubbed himself all over and relished in the smell and the feel. He stood under the shower until he realised his hosts would wonder where he had got to. He found what passed for a towel and rubbed himself down. It just felt so good to be really clean. He put on his clothes and left the bathroom a changed man, tingling all over. He looked at the bed and saw that his hosts had put some clothes at the end of the bed. He looked at them and realised they were a sort of silk pyjamas. The top wrapped over and tied and there were a pair of loose trousers. Was he going to sleep tonight he thought to himself?

He exited his room and saw there was a door open. He figured that was where he had to be heading so he went through the door and walked down a small passage. He exited the passage into a small open area again. Off to the left he could see Lilly preparing some food.

"Go right ahead, Jethro is waiting in the garden" said Lilly

Eli did as he was ordered and he came through a set of double doors and into the garden. The view was spectacular. He could look back and just about see his room window and see the view from there but here you could see a valley that dropped slowly down. It had a mixture of trees and fields that led down to a river. He could see houses similar to Jethro's house and other people in their gardens getting ready to sit down to a meal. He could hear children playing, laughing and squealing. That was something he hadn't heard in a long time and Eli smiled.

"Please sit" prompted Jethro "And enjoy the view. We have a simple life here. We farm in the valley below as you can see and we store ready for winter. Winters can be harsh but we share what we have and we manage."

"This place is just amazing. I still don't know why I'm here. I was brought here as I explained before but I don't know why and the only clue I do have is the reference to the One. Do you know anything about the one?" Asked Eli.

"We are an ancient peoples but I'm sure far back in our past, is a story about someone called the One, offhand I don't remember any details, but tomorrow we could find out"

"That would be great" replied Eli. Still wearing the huge grin on his face.

Lily soon appeared with the meal. It consisted of a salad in a really tasty dressing and cheeses, some bread and fruit for afterwards. She had also supplied some more of the amber juice and a jug of cold water. They all sat together and began their meal. The sun was setting and lights came on in the garden. It was a beautiful place to sit and to eat. The conversation was light and they shared stories. Some of them funny. Eli hadn't laughed like this for a while and some of them a little more serious. But the conversations were good and his hosts couldn't have been better. The darkness was around them and when Eli looked into the valley he could see pinpoints of light. All of them families sitting and enjoying their meals and discussing their day. Soon Eli found himself yawning.

"Sorry about that" He said "I think the day has caught up with me, I'm bushed"

"Well in that case, young man, I suggest we all retire. We are early risers and make the best use of the daylight as we can." Said Jethro.

"I don't want to be a party pooper" replied Eli.

Jethro looked at him puzzled. "It's a saying where I come from. Basically it means that I don't want to ruin your night" explained Eli.

"Oh you haven't done that at all. We are about to retire anyway. As I said we are early risers"

Jethro stood up with Eli and bid him good night and then made his way to his room. Eli made his way too. This had been one roller coaster of a ride and waves of tiredness made his limbs seem suddenly heavy and he felt absolutely exhausted. He got to his room and felt a bit self-conscious of the window and closed the small curtains that were there. Then he put on the clothes he had been given and snuggled down into the bed. Oh it was so soft and he felt like he was being hugged by the bed and snuggled by the coverlet. Within seconds Eli had closed his eyes and relaxed. Sleep claimed him and all thoughts of Destiny and his mission were momentarily forgotten. He needed this sleep.

In the room next to him Jethro and Lilly could be heard talking. It was indistinct but seemed troubled and in some places the voices lost their whisper as answers and questions seemed to be banded back and forth between Jethro and his partner. Eli was blissfully unaware of all of this and slept.


	20. Chapter 21

Chapter 21.

The sunlight burned through the thin curtains and trailed across the bed until finally it began to cross Eli's skin. Slowly, Eli awoke and stirred as the sunlight slanted across his eyes. He sat up in bed and looked through the crack in the curtains. Then he decided to get out of bed and he walked over to the curtains and opened them wide. The sun had just passed the horizon filling the whole sky with its brilliance. Eli looked for his clothes and disappeared for a few moments into the bathroom before emerging dressed and ready to go. He left his room and walked out towards the outside area they had sat in last night. Jethro and his partner were there, sipping their drinks, the remnants of their breakfast in front of them. Lilly saw him first and stood up.

"Please sit down Eli" she said. "Please enjoy your meal and when you have done so Jethro will visit the archives with you."

"That would be great" said Eli. "I really need to get on with this and go back to the ship"

"We will do what we can for you "said jethro. "I'm sure the archives will help"

Jethro offered him some fruit from a bowl in the centre of the table and Eli took a few pieces. He was a bit suspicious of something new but he took a bite from the first fruit. It was good. All the eating fruit over that last couple of weeks was rubbing off on him and he was really enjoying it. Once Eli had finished eating the table was cleared and Jethro made ready to leave. Eli sat in the garden a bit longer. Behind him he could hear hushed voices in a heated conversation and he turned to look. It seemed like Lilly was trying to plead with Jethro over something but Eli couldn't make out what they were saying and once or twice he noticed Lilly looking his way. He waited for them to end their conversation out of embarrassment and then got up to get his belongings. He packed up his ruck sack and left his room to find Jethro waiting.

"Are you ready?" asked Jethro

"Yup" replied Eli. "Is it far to the archives?" Eli asked

"About an hour's walk into the valley, but it's a pleasant walk" replied Jethro. He bent down to the table and retrieved a wide brimmed hat and put it on his head. "It's still early so we should avoid most of the noon day heat"

He led the way out of the front door and headed along the path. At first there were a few trees but these petered out and the path wandered between fields. Jethro saw most of his neighbours busy in their fields and he doffed his hat as he passed them. Eli not knowing what to do gave a little wave as he passed and got a little wave in return. One thing he did notice however was that everywhere he went, as soon as the children saw him, they ran and hid. It was a little disconcerting. Eventually Eli decided to speak up.

"Is everything alright Jethro?" he asked.

"Why sure" replied Jethro

"I'm asking because this morning you seemed to be having a rather heated exchange with Lilly and whilst not wanting to sound paranoid, I'm sure it was about me" said Eli "And I've also noticed the children running and hiding every time they see me"

Now it was Jethro's turn to look a little embarrassed.

"Yes the discussion did involve you. You see, we don't get many strangers here. That's one of the reasons why the children run away. I don't want to frighten you but the other reason is that we get Off Worlders that come here every so often to collect tribute. It would be unfortunate if they came here and found you." He explained.

"Why unfortunate?" Replied Eli.

"Because they would they would take you as tribute. You're different to us. They like different. It… amuses them." Jethro admitted quietly.

"What!" exclaimed Eli "What is the tribute they ask for?" Asked a very alarmed Eli.

"Children" stated Jethro. "They want our children. Their race can no longer reproduce so they take children to be their own. They only take the young. If we have nothing to give them, we are punished"

"You can't just let them take your children! It's not right! Do you know when they are due next?" Questioned Eli.

"Soon is all I can say. Lilly is concerned if you stay too long they will arrive and take you. Please Eli. Do what you need to do and please it would be better if you left" Pleaded Jethro.

"There must be something you can do?" Eli ranted

"No, nothing. We did fight back once and they decimated our planet and took almost all of our technology and anybody with technical knowledge was removed or killed. I'm sorry Eli there is nothing you can do. If we fight back it will be worse" Jethro explained.

"There must be something?"

"No nothing Eli. We will be at the archives soon. Please, find out what out can and then I really must ask you to leave"

"There must be more you can do. How do they arrive? "Asked Eli.

"They come through the forbidden place, where the great gateway is" explained Jethro

"Then why don't you bury it?" asked Eli.

"Because we are too afraid of entering that place. It has always been forbidden" stated Jethro. "Please Eli can we leave it there for now. I find this quite distressing."

"I'm sorry jethro but on my world and with my people, we would fight back." Said Eli.

Silently the pair of them carried on walking. Eli realised they were walking down hill into the valley he had seen out of his window. As they walked Eli tried striking up a conversation once more. At first the conversation was strained but soon jethro relaxed and their camaraderie from before reinstated itself and the walk once more became a pleasant one. Soon Eli began to see more and more trees until finally they entered another forest. There weren't any signs of habitation and Eli wondered where they were heading until finally Jethro stopped.

"What I'm about to reveal to you, we keep a secret. When we were first invaded many millennia ago, this was the only building protected from their great weapon. Their weapon stopped all things with power from working. Then we simply lost the ability to use our technology. The archives hold our history, our folk law. It's all we have left. No children are ever brought here and not all the adults know of its existence. I am taking a chance because for some unknown reason I trust you" Jethro explained.

"Wow. I didn't realise. Please if this is going to cause some trouble, I will be quite happy to leave. I only came here because I was brought here for some reason I'm still not sure of, I only know finding out about the One may help me" Eli said astounded.

"I think it's important for you to know. When I show you, you will understand." Jethro answered simply.

They both walked further into the forest and the trees were closer together. Then Jethro stopped and parted some vines and foliage and pushed his way through and disappeared. Eli hurriedly did the same. He had to fight through for a minute but then came to an open door, just small enough to squeeze through. Jethro was waiting on the other side and as soon as Eli entered, he pushed a door control and everywhere went black. Eli stood still to get used to the darkness and realised that Jethro had walked on ahead and was waiting in a lit doorway just ahead of him. Quickly Eli followed him.

Eli stepped through the open doorway and he was stunned. The room was bright and airy and well lit. Everything was white and sparkling, he looked at the panels that were on the walls and realised they were in Ancient. He walked around and touched the walls and realised they were individual data banks.

"This is in the old tongue. Every generation a few select adults are taught to read and speak the old tongue. This is how our history is passed down." Jethro pronounced proudly.

"Do you know what this is?" Exclaimed Eli "It's an Ancient data bank!"

"Yes" said Jethro "I told you it was old"

Eli was getting really excited. "No, no, no, you're missing my point. They were a people. The people that built my ship. They were in this galaxy millions of years ago. This must be one of their outposts. It must have been forgotten or abandoned"

Jethro just looked at Eli in amazement. "You know this?" He questioned.

"Yes" replied Eli. "In fact I could probably upload this data bank to my ship".

Eli swung his rucksack to the floor and rummaged inside to get out his hand held. He showed it to Jethro.

"This is a piece of alien technology that belonged to the ancients from my ship"

Eli proceeded to show Jethro what it could do.

"I can even talk to my ship. But I would have to open the gate to do that. But better would be if Destiny could form a link with your data base and upload it." Explained Eli.

"You have an Ancient ship" Queried Jethro "That could talk to the archives?"

"Yes" replied Eli excitedly "So I wouldn't have to stay. I could transmit to Destiny and I could transfer your knowledge"

"Would it harm the archive?" asked Jethro nervously.

"No, it would copy it but then it would mean I could find out more about your people and where they came from for instance" Eli stated.

"Well son I am surprised. First you wanted to find out about the One." Said Jethro.

"The archives have more than one form. Some is written and some is moving pictures" Explained Jethro. "And we also interact with the archive"

Jethro approached the console and waved his hand over the central part. As he did the air shimmered in front of the console and a beautiful young woman appeared. She was dressed similarly to Eli but in robes and not trousers. She stood looking at Jethro, her hands joined together in front of her.

"Wow" said an amazed Eli "You interact with an avatar!"

Jethro looked puzzled "This is the Archive. We can talk to her and she helps us. Sometimes she talks to us and other times, she will show us what we need. She's the one that has taught us all the Ancient language"

Eli looked on still stunned by what he saw. "She's what we call an Ancient. But when she is in this form we call it an avatar. It's like having something that looks and represents an image or it can be an idea. Here she looks like an Ancient and this is an Ancient data bank." Explained Eli.

Jethro listened to Eli's explanation but didn't seem to take in what was being explained to him. He still looked puzzled. "To us she is the Archive; I don't think I quite understand this avatar person. Do they all look the same?" Jethro questioned.

"It's like this "replied Eli "If I was copying this data base to my ship, I could make a representation of you, something that looks like you but isn't you because you would be here not on my ship"

"Aah I think I understand now" replied Jethro "So the Archive shows us what she looked like in real life, so we can see her"

"Yes that's right. The people who came here were like her" answered a really excited Eli. He had heard stories about Ancient data bases like this. He never in his wildest dreams thought he would visit one.

"Well we must get on with our task Eli" reminded Jethro.

"Yes, I know, I'm just so excited" replied Eli. His smile went from ear to ear. Then he had a thought and his smile widened even more. Rush would be so jealous, he had found a proper Ancient fully working data base. Jethro turned to the Archive and readied himself.

"Can you please tell us what you know about the One" he stated

At first the Archive remained motionless and then her head cocked to one side and she began to speak "The One. The One is going to restore balance to the Universe and will emerge at the time of greatest despair"

Both Jethro and Eli stood there and waited for the Archive to say more. But she stopped talking and looked straight ahead.

"That's it?" Eli exclaimed "but I know that already I want more information. Who is the One? Where does he or she come from? "

The Archive turned to Eli. "No one knows where the One is, only that at the time of greatest despair he will appear"

Eli was dumbfounded; he really thought more information would be forthcoming. He was at an Ancient data base and while he knew they weren't infallible, someone as important as the One, surely would have more recorded about them. Maybe he was asking the wrong question.

"So the One is male? " Asked Eli.

For a second Eli thought the Archive looked stunned, he frowned and then thought he must be seeing things. For a moment the Archive seemed to be lost for words.

"The One has been recorded as male and female as well as having no designation at all. I used only what was recorded here" Replied the Avatar. Then she stood there motionless and waited once more.

Eli was getting a little exasperated. He felt like he was being given the run around and he didn't like it. "Ok "He said "What information do you hold about the One?"

Again the Archive seemed to look slightly shocked.

"There is no other information held here about the One" She replied

Eli rubbed his face and walked for a minute. He looked around as if to find inspiration somewhere before turning back to the Archive.

"Where will I find more information about the One? "He asked.

"I am sorry. I do not hold any other information about the One" the Archive answered.

Eli felt like something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something about this data base that didn't seem… well, right, was all he could think of. For one this was a data base that didn't seem to answer many questions. Mind you it was old he told himself. But even so. He thought he knew a bit about the Ancients and he knew that they knew more than they would let on. From working on Destiny he had realised it wasn't just asking straight forward questions that got an answer. Sometimes you had to think out of the box.

Jethro disturbed his train of thought "Eli, it is getting late and we have a long journey home" he said.

Eli looked at Jethro. It felt like he had just got here. But he realised it had took a while to get here and getting back would be all uphill. He realised he would need time to think and that he would have to come back here.

"Is it alright if I stay and maybe come back tomorrow?" Asked Eli. "I don't want to outstay my welcome but I believe there is more here for me to discover and I want to create an up link to Destiny, if that's possible, and copy the data base"

Jethro thought for a moment. "That should be fine. I will talk to Lilly. She is so worried about the Off worlders. They might not appear for a long time but she is a worrier Eli"

"Thank you Jethro. I could even make it easier for you. I could come down on my own and I promise to be careful. I know you have things of your own to take care of"

"I'm not sure about that Eli. We don't normally let strangers in here. You are the exception. I don't know if I would be comfortable with that" replied Jethro. "We can discuss it over our evening meal"

"Thank you Jethro. I would like that" Said Eli. He picked up his hand held and replaced it in his ruck sack and prepared to leave. He took one more look around the Archive. Jethro passed his hand across the central panel and the Archive disappeared. For today he would have to be satisfied with the answers he had got and overnight he could think of some better questions. Jethro went ahead out of the room to lead Eli to the outer door. He closed the door to the Archive and walked to the outer door and opened it. Eli made his way through and waited for Jethro. Jethro soon appeared. The pair of them started to walk back through the trees to the path and the way home. Eli was lost in thought about what he had seen today.

"So what are your thoughts about the Archive?" asked Jethro.

"I think it's amazing" replied Eli "You are so lucky"

"In more ways than one" replied Jethro. It was the only place that survived the first attack when all our power was taken away"

"I think I know what happened there. I think you were bombarded with something called an E M pulse. Basically it's like a massive electrical wave that overloads everything and stops it all from working. The Archive I think is protected. That's why it survived"

"It was a long time ago and I am not sure of the facts Eli but I think you may be right. You are a bright young man"

Eli smiled at this. "Thank you for such a compliment" he said. They carried on their way to Jethro's home. As they walked Eli began to tell Jethro about some of the things he had learnt and the people he had met. In return Jethro told him tales from his everyday life. Together they made their way back home.


	21. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Eli! Eli, wake up! You must hurry!" Shouted Jethro.

"What!" replied a very sleepy Eli. He looked outside and saw that it was still dark.

"You must hurry Eli" shouted jethro .

Eli didn't understand what was going on. Jethro had pulled him out of bed and shoved his clothes at him.

"Quickly and get dressed! They are here Eli. I've packed your bag. You must leave here quickly."

Eli began to shove on his clothes. "Where am I supposed to go?" Asked Eli.

"Make your way to the Archive. It's the only place I can think of. Now hurry!" said Jethro. "Lilly knew they were coming she always does. They come for tribute this time Eli. You are in great danger"

Jethro hustled Eli out of his room and down the hallway towards the front door.

"Eli, I have packed you some things. They will keep you going for a few days. They don't normally stay any longer than that. Be safe" Said Lilly and she gave Eli a quick embarrassed hug. "Be safe Eli. Now hurry" She said.

Jethro and Lilly stood at their front door and watched Eli run down the path and quickly out of sight. Eli turned back in time to see Jethro hurrying the other way towards the clearing he had first arrived in. Eli turned back and began to hurry towards the Archive. The way was a lot spookier at night. Luckily he had the black path to show him most of the way at least. He looked across the fields as he hurried, then realised he was in plain sight and began to hug the hedge rows to shield himself from prying eyes. He looked back once or twice but couldn't see anything. The trees hid everything from view. He felt like a fool for running but Jethro had made it clear the evening before, any sort of danger and Eli was to hide. Eli wanted to help but Jethro insisted that if he did, he would be taken or worse, killed, along with Jethro and Lilly.

Soon Eli reached the forest and began walking in what he thought was the right direction. After a few failed attempts, Eli found the path that ran through the forest and followed it until he saw the knarled tree Jethro had turned near yesterday and then saw the vines handing down and went through them to find the door. It was a lot more difficult in the dark and he was panicking. This was madness. Why hadn't he woken someone up or even everyone up to help him? Eli knew the answer. The first was that he didn't want to wake someone up and find it was a false alarm and the second… well he wanted to show everyone he could do this on his own. Pride. Foolish pride thought Eli.

Eli found the door and pushed the handle to open it. He quickly got inside and made sure it closed behind him and that it was locked so if anyone did come this way, they couldn't get in. He walked forward in the pitch black and banged his head on the opposite wall and he began to feel around for the door. He couldn't find it. He was lost in the dark. Then he realised in his ruck sack was a torch. He wasn't thinking straight at all. He pulled his bag off his shoulder and rested it in front of him then slowly opened it and felt around for the torch. After a bit of rummaging he found it and he switched it on and nearly blinded himself. He forgot how bright it was and it reflected off the wall into his eyes blinding him. He pointed it to the floor and waited for his eyes to adjust. Then slowly scanned the corridor he was in. He saw the Archive room he had been in before, the door was ajar and a small amount of light spilled into the corridor. He was sure that Jethro had closed it before they left. He shone the torch up and down the corridor, although it was more like a small hallway, he could see there were other doors. Jethro hadn't told him about those and he hadn't seen much when he came with Jethro because it was all dark.

Eli entered the Archive room and turned off his torch. He looked around, the room itself seemed to glow and he couldn't actually see any form of lighting. He put down his rucksack and the bag of supplies that Lilly had given him. He put the torch back in his bag and took out his hand held. He realised then it was the middle of the night and it was hours till morning. Eli wandered around the Archive room and realised there were no chairs. There was nothing for him to sit on. So it looked like he was going to get the floor.

He sat heavily on the floor and reached over for the bag Lilly had given him. He was really thirsty after all that running. He took out a flask. It was filled with the home made juice and he took a long swig out of the bottle. That was much better. Thoughts were flying through his head. He wondered if jethro and Lilly were safe and then thought about the tribute the Off Worlders had come to take. Then suddenly he felt sick, really sick. He had left Destiny on her own. With a sickening realisation he had left her defenceless along with the crew. What about the crew? He had left them unprotected and in danger!

Quickly he got up off the floor and swiped his hand across the console. The Archive shimmered and then appeared.

"What do you know about the Off Worlders?" he asked.

She looked at him and replied. "The Off Worlders visit this world and exact tribute from the peoples here"

"But who are the Off Worlders?" Eli asked.

"I am sorry but I do not have that information" She replied.

"There must be something in your data banks about them, they have been here before" Stated Eli.

"I am sorry, I do not have that information" Insisted the Archive.

Eli smiled. "I'm not falling for that one" He said to the Archive. "You might be able to trick them but not me. You know something and you aren't telling"

"I'm sorry I do not understand the question" She replied.

"You know more than you are letting on" Eli stated frankly "I'm not falling for it"

And he stared at the Archive. In return the Archive looked back at him arrogantly

.

"For one Avatars don't have expressions, at least not those I have met" Eli said.

"I'm sorry, I do not understand what you are asking "

"Ok, have it your own way. I've got plenty of time" said Eli sarcastically.

He swiped the console and the Archive disappeared quickly. There was definitely something not right about the Archive but he couldn't put his finger on it. But he had other things on his mind. If this was an Ancient data base, there must be some sort of technology he could make use of. Eli began by looking closely at the console. Everything was in Ancient but he had a good handle on Ancient, well he thought so, he took a good look at everything that was there. Then it hit him. This wasn't just a data base at all. By reading the controls he could see that this was some sort of alternative command centre. He just didn't know to what. He decided to go on a search. He retrieved the torch from his bag and went back into the hallway. He turned the torch on and looked into the hallway. There were two other doors. He placed the torch on the floor illuminating the doors. Eli tried the first and it wouldn't budge. He gave it a good few tries and nothing. In frustration he kicked it .All that he succeeded in doing was to stub his toe.

He walked to the other door and like the first it wouldn't budge. He tried a few more times and the door mechanism began to turn. Slowly ever so slowly the central handle began to turn. Eventually Eli had turned the handle all the way around and the door began to give way. Eli pushed with all his strength at first nothing. The door was refusing to open any further but he wasn't going to give in that easily. He pushed again with all his might. The door began to move but it made a loud jarring noise. Eli stopped pushing and stood still. He might be in a forest, miles away, but he didn't want anyone to hear him and draw attention to himself. Eli put his shoulder to the door and began to push again, slowly, so very slowly, the door began to move inwards.

This room was in total darkness. Eli wondered if it was a lack of power or if it was damaged. He turned to get his torch from the hallway and then entered the room. The torch illuminated panels and consoles that were covered with silky cloths that were semi-transparent. This was definitely interesting. He shone the torch to the far wall and saw a screen. He wondered what it was for and walked towards it. It was definitely some sort of viewing screen. He pulled off the cover nearest to him and examined the console. He recognised some but not all the symbols. Some were really alien to him whilst others were similar to those on Destiny. This piqued his curiosity. He recognised one as an entry button and he was about to press it when he heard a voice behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, it can get you into all sorts of trouble young man!"

Eli flew round to see where the voice had come from and nearly blinded and side swiped the Archive with his torch.

"You!" he shouted "I knew there was something not quite right about you! Just what are you doing here?"

"Well for starters I help these people when I can" replied the Archive.

"By pretending!" shouted Eli again.

"Please don't shout, you don't understand" said the Archive.

She moved away part of one of the sheets and passed her hand over the console and the room glowed with white light. Eli put his torch down and turned on the Archive.

"Oh I understand perfectly well. How arrogant can you be to mislead these people?" He asked

"But I don't mislead them" was the reply.

"Yes you do! You only tell them what you want to. They aren't children and you do know who the Off Worlders are!"

"Yes I do. But there's nothing I can do to help these people" the Archive replied.

"But you're an Ancient, of course there is something you can do! "

"I'm sorry Eli but there isn't. My being here is a punishment, one that was handed down to me millennia ago" the Archive replied.

"A punishment! A punishment! If you have been here for a millennia then you must have ascended. You can go anywhere you want" said Eli

The Archive folded down the collar on her robe. Underneath was a metal choker. It was the most beautiful thing Eli had ever seen.

Touching it the Archive said "This keeps me here. I can never leave and I can't get it off. Believe me when I say, I can't get it off; I've tried, so many times. I am a prisoner here"

"A prisoner! Really! So what was so bad that you had to remain here like this. It must have been something really bad!" said Eli with a hint of sarcasm "Go on enlighten me"

"I caused this world to be broken the way it is. I let the Off Worlders in. Not on purpose. I thought I was doing something good by introducing these people, in the mistaken belief that they could form an alliance and trade goods and ideas. I was so terribly wrong" The Archives face fell. "So as punishment I had to remain here until the others thought I had earned my freedom and I've been here for so long. I help where I can but my hands are tied. They watch me and I have to be careful. Even talking to you could be seen as another crime to them"

Eli looked at the Archive. "Let's say I believe you. What could you do to earn your freedom? Or could I help you escape?"

"This collar stops me from leaving here. If I try to leave, it chokes me. If I try to touch it, it chokes me. I have spent many years trying to get it off. It stops me from travelling in my ascended form. I have to remain in this form. The only place I can travel from is room to room. I haven't seen outside for so long. Haven't felt the sun on my face or the rain falling." The Archive turned away from Eli. "So I'm stuck like this"

"Give me some time and I will see what I can do. But first things first. The Off Worlders are here. Can I do anything to help? And do they know about Destiny?" Asked Eli

"The only thing I can tell you is that they don't usually travel by ship. They use the Star Gate. They travel from gate to gate. At least they did. They like to conquer and then use the planets for resources that they need. But they let the worlds they conquer rule themselves. Any uprisings are dealt with quickly and harshly, like here." Explained the Archive.

"Can you see then from here?" Asked Eli.

"I'm afraid not. I only have knowledge about what people tell me. I don't know how much they have changed. But from what I've heard they may be a dying race. They can no longer reproduce sufficiently for themselves so they go from planet to planet and take children of a very young age, as their own."

"There must be something we can do?" Eli responded.

"If you go out there you will put yourself in danger as well as the rest of the people of this world. There will be repercussions for anything you do. They will be harsh and unforgiving." Said the Archive.

Eli paced. "But look at what they are doing!" He paced some more. "Couldn't we bury the gate after they have gone?"

"Yes there is that. But will the people help you? It will have to be totally disconnected. These people don't know how to do that and you must return to your ship before it is buried. The people of this planet are very fearful and with good reason." Replied the Archive.

"Ok I will work on that then." Said Eli.

"I think you should rest first. There is nothing you can do to help these people now. It would only endanger you. . The people of this planet are very fearful and with good reason." Replied the Archive.

"Ok I will work on that then." Said Eli.

"I think you should rest first. There is nothing you can do to help these people now. It would only endanger you. You need a clear head and mind" suggested the Archive.

"How can I rest at a time like this? Those people are in danger from a race that are no better than bullies" Eli was frustrated and helpless. He couldn't sit back. He knew there must be something he could do.

"Eli there is nothing you can do. Please rest. We will see what tomorrow brings." Soothed the Archive.

"Like I'm going to get much sleep, wondering what's going on outside and me hiding in here like a frightened rabbit" Eli rubbed his face. He remembered the bandage on his hand. It was filthy and falling apart. The burn wasn't hurting as much, it was itching though.

"What have you done to your hand?" asked the Archive.

"I had an accident on the ship. I burnt it quite badly but it seems to be ok. It's hardly bothered me since I came here.I've worn this bandage for so long I had almost forgotten it was there." Replied Eli.

"Let me see it" The Archive said. "I might be able to help you"

Eli began to carefully unwinding the bandage. He hated the part where it always got stuck. The skin was amazingly sensitive and the minute the cool air got to the burn he could feel the sting. Then he got to the part he hated most. The bandage was stuck. Ever so slowly he tugged at the bandage until it slowly came away along with a piece of dead grey skin and revealed a burn red and raw once again. Eli was sure it actually looked worse now than it had ever looked.

"Oo that looks very painful" The Archive noted.

"Very" agreed Eli

"Well that is something I can help with Eli. It might hurt a bit so I suggest we sit on the floor"

Eli and the Archive sat opposite one another and the Archive took Eli's hand. She placed it in between her two hands, one above one below.

"Ready?" she asked

"Ready as I'll ever be" replied Eli.

Alight began to glow between the Archives hands and Eli could feel the heat. He began to grimace as it grew and he took in a breath and held it as the pain intensified in his hand. The light grew brighter and he could see the Archive straining as she built up the healing power, beads of sweat appearing on her brow. His hand was like a burning coal and Eli cried out "Aaaargh. It hurts!" he shouted.

"I know Eli" said the Archive through gritted teeth. "Just a moment longer"

Eli didn't know how long that moment was. Consciousness left him and he slumped against the wall. The light intensified some more and then began to fade. The Archive let go of Eli's hand and stood up and staggered slightly. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a large burn. She looked at Eli's hand which was once more perfect, with no sign of the injury he had sustained. She went to one of the cupboards behind her and opened a drawer and took out a dressing and some bandage. Whilst Eli slept she bandaged her arm and then pulled her sleeve over the wound.

Eli slept on whilst the Off Worlders took their tribute of children. Babes in arms were demanded and handed over. Some mothers cried after their children and received retribution of a violent kind. One mother chased after her child and was shot. Everyone else looked away from the killers, afraid they would be next. The Off Worlders, happy with their tribute, turned and left. In the clearing families grieved the loss of their children. Children they knew they would never see again. Once out of their sight chaos reigned as families ran to each other. Wives ran to husbands who had been separated from them. Not all the children had been taken and the mothers cooed over their lucky offspring. Those unlucky enough to lose a child wept and mourned their loss as they were led away home.


	22. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Eli's eyes opened slowly. He was still slumped against the wall but he was now alone. He looked around and stretched and looked as if he had woken to a new world with no idea where he was. He stretched and then looked at his injured hand or rather the hand that had been injured. He stretched it in front of him and turned it over and over looking to see if there was any sign of the injury he had suffered. There was nothing , no pain, no scar, nothing. He felt his hand with his other and marvelled at the healing. He flexed his fingers and made a fist, no pain and no stretching and tightness. Then he opened his hand and stretched it. Nothing. It was the same as before the injury. Perfect. Eventually he realised he would have to get up. Slowly he got to his feet. At first not using the hand that was injured and laughed at himself as he realised he could use it now, he didn't have to shelter it any more. So using both hands he pushed himself up and stretched. He looked around but the Archive was nowhere to be seen. He wondered how long he had been asleep. He looked around for his hand held and realised he had left it in the other room. He exited the room and made his way to the Archive room. Then he heard a muffled banging coming from the outer door. He stopped short and held his breath afraid that the Off Worlders had found him. At first there was silence and the only thing Eli could hear was the thudding of his heart.

Then he heard it again, a muffled band and a muffled voice could be heard but only just "Eli…Eli… Let me in its Jethro"

Eli waited a moment. "Are you alone!" He shouted

"Well of course I am, open the door Eli!" Replied Jethro.

Slowly Eli unlocked the door and pushed it open, still unsure.

"I thought you were going to leave me out there" Said a very worried Jethro "Are you alright? The Off Worlders have had their tribute and they have left" Then Jethro noticed the newly opened door.

"What have you done !" He shouted. He began to pace up and down, running his hands through his hair. "Eli I told you not to touch anything. What have you done?"

Eli knew this was coming and waited for Jethro to stop pacing and making worried comments. He looked down at the floor and let Jethro rant.

"I should not have left you here Eli. This place is sacred and we do not touch or interfere with anything here."

Eli took a deep breath and sighed. He looked Jethro squarely in the eye before telling him what had transpired whilst he had been here. But then he had a sinking feeling in his gut and realised he wouldn't be able to just blurt everything out. Eli held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Look, this base looks a lot like others I have seen before. I know how the doors work and I thought if I could open another room it would benefit you. I haven't done any harm" explained Eli.

Jethro quietened at this but didn't look convinced. He looked hurt and worried. Eli could also see that Jethro looked betrayed.

"Well at least the Off Worlders have gone"He said.

"They've gone ? " Questoned Eli. "Exactly how long have I been here?"

"You have been here a day and a night" answered Jethro. "Are you sure you are all right?" Jethro looked at Eli puzzled.

"Yes …Yes…I'm fine" replied Eli "What happened?"

"Well, they took Anthers son and a daughter from the Emile family. Other children were taken from a few of the families from the valley. It was awful Eli. One of the mothers chased after child and because the Off Worlders beat her so severely she nearly died. The women are looking after her." Explained Jethro.

" I feel so helpless" said Eli. He put both of his hands through his hair. "There is an answer to this but there is something I must do first and something you will have to do later." He walked up and down infront of Jethro waving his hands as he talked " I'm not saying it will be without danger but it will solve your problems. I just need some time." While Eli had been saying this Jethro seemed a little distracted. It was only when Eli finished talking that he realised Jethro was looking at him. "Is there something wrong Jethro?" He asked

"Your hand Eli. You told me it was injured and painfull and would take quite a while to heal. Your bandage has gone and there is nothing there. " Jethro said somewhat astounded.

Eli took a deep breath. "Well that's a bit of a long story Jethro" Eli rubbed his hands across his face. He was going to have to make a really big decision. Did he tell Jethro about the Archive or not? "Its something I cant explain to you right now because you might find it hard to understand"

"I am not a child Eli. You can't put me off that easily. Did something happen I should know about?" replied Jethro.

Eli didn't know how to explain to Jethro the events that had transpired and then wondered whether he should. Conflicting thoughts ran through his mind. True the Archive shouldn't of hidden her true identity or lie about who she was, even though her intentions were good. He felt sorry for the Archive and knew for her to admit her part in the destruction of the former civilisation of the planet was something that was going to be difficult for her to admit to. Would Jethro understand that she did it through some misguided thought of doing good or would he see it as some awful sin that couldn't be forgiven?

Eli made a choice. "Come with me Jethro, I have something to explain to you"

He led Jethro into the Archive room and then turned to face him. "I just want you to listen to me Jethro. Please agree to not interrupting me until I have finished and I will explain what has happened here. Its going to be hard for you to hear but please just listen to me and whatever happens just let me take the lead."

Jethro looked perplexed. "Is this going to be bad Eli ?" He asked looking worried.

Eli wasn't sure how to answer him. He took a breath . "Please, just watch and listen"

Jethro nodded ascent and then Eli passed his hand over the console. At first nothing happened. Jethro looked at Eli puzzled. Then the Archive appeared. She looked straight ahead, her hands folded in front of her and waited, her expression blank.

"Archive, please you must tell Jethro, what happened on this planet a millennia ago ?" He commanded.

Still expressionless she replied. "A millennia ago, a race known as the Off Worlders invaded this planet and conquered its peoples. Since then the Off Worlders race has begun to fail. They no longer reproduce in numbers able to sustain their civilisation. As a result they demand tribute from this world"

Eli stood and looked hard at the Archive and asked another question "And who was responsible for them visiting this world?"

The Archive remained resolute and stood staring at the opposite wall. Jethro opened his mouth to speak and Eli held up his hand to stop him and shook his head. Jethro and Eli looked on, Jethro took a breath to speak again. Eli turned slightly, his index finger resting on his lips. As the two men watched, the Archive continued staring at the opposite wall. Then her eyes began to fill and a tear fell. Her moth opened and closed trying to form words and then in a whisper she answered. "I am".

The Archive then turned and looked at Jethro. "It is a long and complicated story Jethro and I am truly sorry. My actions were in good faith but I didn't listen to the advice of those around me and I failed your people" Another tear coursed its way down her face. Jethro just looked on incredulously. He was shocked that the Archive had addressed him and absolutely dumbstruck by what she had told him. The Archive walked from her normal place and approached Jethro who stepped back and away from her. Eli looked on. He felt pity for the Archive but he felt like these people had been misled and something had to be done and maybe the Archive could help. The Archive held out her hand and Jethro shrank away from her. The hurt in her eyes was more than Eli could take and realised he had punished her enough.

"Jethro listen to me. The Archive is real. She is somebody we call an ascended being. That's how come she can appear and reappear to you. Her being here is a punishment." Said Eli.

"If she is responsible for the death of my people and the taking of so many children she deserves to be punished!" Exploded Jethro.

Eli took a breath. He was going to have to save this situation and fast before it all went terribly wrong. "Its not quite that cut and dried " Explained Eli. He looked at the tear stained face of the Archive.

"A long time ago" began Eli "This was a base for the people called the Ancients. I've talked about them before. They lived in harmony with the people of your world and didn't interfere with you or the lives you led. Yes they could help sometimes but you were left to your own devices. To lead your own lives and make your own decisions."

Eli looked at the Archive. She stood with her eyes to the floor and then she looked up and continued. " Your world was a prosperous one. You were advanced, you had technology and for the most part you were happy. But you were isolated from other worlds. We used the Stargate and kept it fiercely protected and stopped others from using it to gain access here. You yourselves did not use the Stargate as you felt it was something that belonged to us alone." At this point the Archive took a breath and looked at Jethro. "Do you follow me so far Jethro ?" She asked.

Jethro looked at the Archive still slightly shell shocked. "Yes" he said quietly "That's the history we know now" And then he waited for the Archive to continue.

"A few of us thought it would benefit your world to trade with others. You were insular and alone. We thought you could trade and make new friends. Improve and share your technology. There was a race who although, like yourselves didn't have starships , used the Stargate to travel the galaxy and trade. So we introduced you. At first things went well and they visited several times. But I did this without the consent of my Elders. I thought I knew better than them and didn't listen to their warnings. These first few visits went well. But things changed"

"Yes they destroyed our technology, killed my people and enslaved us with tribute we were forced to give" said Jethro bitterly.

"It wasn't quite like that" interjected Eli " please listen to the Archive" pleaded Eli.

Jethro pused his lips and looked critically at the Archive but he nodded his ascention and the Archive continued.

" We knew that in the past there had been major storms. Not normal like on this planet. These come from your sun. They were solar storms. Our base was shielded so if it ever happened we would be secure. Unfortunately your world wasn't as well shielded. We had warned you, that every 300 hundred years or so your world had a major storm. You wouldn't listen." The Archive stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. " We knew one was coming and we warned your people but to no avail. When it hit, it was devastating. You lost all power all over the globe. Your systems went into melt down. We were shielded. We emerged when it was over to find your world in a state of cataclysmic failure and you blamed us even though it wasn't our fault and we had warned your people of what was about to happen. Then it got worse."

"How can it get worse. You just watched our world die!" shouted Jethro

"The Off Worlders took advantage of your weakened state. They came through the Stargate and your people thought it was to help. It wasn't, it was to conquer. They had been biding their time, just waiting for a moment of weakness to strike and this was it. I myself was mortally injured but my elders decided a fitting punishment was to ascend and then remain here at their will and be a slave to your people. My elders wouldn't help you and they warned me I couldn't or I would be severely punished. They left me with all my memories intact so that every day was a living hell. I was to become your Archive and watch as your civilisation slowly recovered but carried the burden of no longer having technology. The Off Worlders took that away and you were constantly punished by them over the next thousand years by giving tribute. You have no one in living memory who remembers how great your civilisation was. You are only aware that the Off Worlders took it away"

"I have never heard of these storms" replied Eli. "It is lies. The Off Worlders came here and took it!"

"No Jethro, your world failed on its own. Its people wouldn't listen to us. What I didn't know was that the very people I though could help you were the ones to take the avantage of your downfall. I am truly sorry Jethro. My elders wouldn't let me block the Gate. They said it was your decision to make so over the years I have had to sit by and watch as time after time as the Off Worlders came and took advantage of your downfall and plundered your world. I am truly sorry Jethro"

Jethro looked astounded at the confession. He was still speechless and Eli could see this might be taking a turn for the worse.

"Listen to me jethro." Said Eli " I know a little of these elders and they have the power of life and death. See the collar that the Archive wears" And he pointed to it. "yes it is a collar, to prevent the Archive from using what powers she does have to help you and to remain captured on this world, never to leave it. She is as much a prisoner here as you are. But I have a plan which may help you both"

Jethro looked over whelmed. "I am sorry Eli but this is a lot for me to take in. The Archive is responsible for introducing the Off Worlders, who then plundered, I think that was the word you used, and destroyed what little we had. If she hadn't introduced us or allowed them to come here we would be fine"

" Err its not that black and white. The trade initially was good. But after the solar storm they took advantage and the Archive was helpless. She couldn't stop them. Her punishment was to look on and observe them time after time the Off Worlders committing atrocities and destroying what civilisation you had left and binding you into slavery to them" Explained Eli. He ran his hands through his hair and gave Jethro a pleading look. The Archive was visibly weeping.

"But I have a plan to help you both. Its daring but you must give the Archive a chance to do something right"

"Oh mighty fine that is Eli. First I find the Archive isn't the Archive at all but an alien as you put it, then I find she is responsible for the destruction of this world and then I am supposed to let her 'help' again. As well as trusting you, I might remind you, who is also an alien. Why on my Lillys life would I trust you now that I have found out what the Archive has done ?" Exclaimed jethro.

"Please jethro, will you hear me out and then you can decide if you want to go ahead with it. If you don't, then fine I will leave this world. But I think I can stop the Off Worlders from coming here and give the Archive a chance to help you and to repay some of the damage she has done. We can close the gate, we can stop them coming here again." Pleaded Eli.

Jethro considered this for a minute, he frowned and then turned to Eli. "I need to think about this further and I want to talk to Lilly. There is so much for me to take in. I am greatly troubled about what I have heard here today. Please Eli. You are still welcome to come and eat with us. But can I ask that after our meal you retire to your room and leave us alone. I need to share this with Lilly and see what her reaction is. I need to go through all of this my mind is such a muddle"

Eli turned to the Archive " I think it's a wise decision" he turned to Jethro "And I can try and answer any questions you have and we can come back to the Archive tomorrow"

"Amynta" said the Archive "My name is Amynta. It is a name I haven't heard in over a thousand years"

Jethro looked at Amynta " So you have a name" he said "You are stillthe Archive to me" then he turned on his heel and left the the room and began to make his way home.

"I will be back tomorrow " Said Eli as he grabbed all his belongings and made his way out of the Archives. He slammed the door shut and locked it before following Jethro who was making quite a pace home.

Eli wondered if he had done the right thing. At least this way he could support Amynta and help her as well as helping Jethro and his people, he just hoped that jethro would listen and be a bit more flexible in his thinking. He had a lot of information to digest and Eli hoped he would make the right decision. He almost ran after Jethro, who made it plain he wasn't going to wait for Eli. Eli knew he was angry and with good reason. But the downfall of his world was not surely just on the shoulders of Amytha. She had been a contributing factor but couldn't be held responsible for everything. Her elders hadn't helped either. Dismayed at how things had turned out he followed jethro up the hill towards Jethros home. He wondered how welcome he would be.


	23. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Jethro had left the door open for Eli and gingerly Eli made his way in. Jethro had marched straight through his house and out into the garden with a very puzzled Lilly looking on. Eli looked at Lilly apologetically. He really didn't know what to say to her. Lilly turned and faced him.

"Well whatever you said to him, must have been pretty bad Eli. I haven't seen him this furious in years." She said.

"I'm really sorry Lilly but it is bad. I really don't know what to say to you. I don't know whether to tell you what's happened or wait for Jethro to tell you" Explained Eli. He was in a quandary. If he did tell her, what did he tell her? Did he tell her everything or just an edited version? He put his bag down on the floor and ran his hands through his hair.

"Come with me Eli into the inner room and have something to drink and I want you to tell me everything and I mean everything" said Lilly markedly.

Eli picked up his bag and wearily left the kitchen and went into the inner reception room and sat heavily in one of the chairs. Close behind was Lilly with a jug of cold juice and a couple of glasses. She placed it on the table along with the glasses and then proceeded to pour one for herself and one for Eli.

"What about Jethro ?" Eli enquired.

"Jethro is fine where he is and if experience is anything to go by, he won't be approachable for a while. Now Eli you need to tell me what's happened. Don't miss anything out and then we can see what we can do and hopefully by that time, jethro will have calmed down. "

Eli took a sip from his glass, then took a deep breath and began telling Lilly the whole tale from beginning to end, adding information he knew about the Ancients and making his own observations. It took a long time. In all that time, Jethro sat outside, simmering. The night drew in and soon it began to cool. Lilly and Eli sat in the twilight talking. Eli telling Lilly what had happened and Lilly asking occasional questions. This was new territory to Lilly who knew only a little about the Archive and nothing at all about the Ancients. Her knowledge of the planets history was scant, as she had never had a need to know. There was a lot for her to take in and process. But she listened patiently while Eli exposed Amynta and her faults and the history of her world and how much it had been changed. Finally Eli finished talking and looked at Lilly. He was drained emotionally as well as physically. He took a breath and yawned. He was exhausted.

"You are tired Eli. Let me fix you something to eat and you can retire" Lilly said.

"To be honest Lilly, as good as your food is, I just want to go to bed. It feels like everything is such a mess. I should have stayed on the Destiny "He replied.

"Now, now Eli. We will have less of that. Get yourself off to bed. I think Jethro will have calmed down. I'm going to have a good talk to that man. I'll see you in the morning Eli. Sleep well" She said.

"Thank you Lilly for listening. I don't know what Jethro is planning to do but please help him make an informed decision"

"I will" replied Lilly. "Sleep well"

Eli got up, stretched and yawned again. He was bushed. He slowly made his way to his room. He opened the door and closed it quietly behind him. He made his way over to the bed and sat heavily down, dumping his rucksack on the floor as he did. What a mess he had made he thought to himself. I should have stayed away and I shouldn't have interfered. Why oh why do I keep doing this? He lay down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Within seconds his eyes began to flutter closed and sleep claimed him…

"Eli! Eli!" Called a woman's voice. "Your breakfast is on the table"

"Coming mom" He replied.

He opened his eyes and at first didn't know where he was. He looked around the room and realised he was on the planet. It wasn't his mom he had heard either, it had been Lilly. He sat up and realised he had slept in his clothes. They were creased with sleep but there was nothing for it. He had nothing else to wear. He got up from the bed and tried to straighten the creases in his clothes. They would have to do as they were.

He slowly opened his door and made his way to the breakfast table. Jethro was there having a drink and he made no move to talk to Eli. This wasn't going to go well thought Eli to himself. Lilly looked at Eli and smiled. OH he had heard him call her mom. No, he began to flush as embarrassment washed over him. This day just got worse, he thought to himself. He seated himself at the table and poured himself a drink of cool juice. It was early morning but already he could feel the day warming up and the dew beginning to dry on the grass below his feet.

"Morning Lilly, morning Jehtro" Eli said.

"Good morning Eli " replied Lilly. Jethro remained silent.

"Jethro!" Admonished Lilly "Stop being so difficult. You are sulking like a child"

"And I have reason to "replied Jethro.

"Now, now. We talked about this long into the small hours of the night and we agreed. All of this was not Eli's fault. Whether or not it happened now or later, it was going to happen. Let's have breakfast and then we will discuss what is going to happen." She said to Jethro and then she turned to Eli and said "And according to Jethro, you have a plan that will help us"

"Yes I do but it will involve both Amynta and Jethro. In fact it will involve everyone. But I can put a stop to the Off Worlders visits, maybe not for good but for long enough for you to be able to help yourselves."

"More interference" remarked jethro.

"No Jethro. It's a means to an end. An end to the Off Worlders visits and their tribute. You can do so much for yourselves" pleaded Eli.

"Ok let's start with eating our meal and we will discuss the matter after that." Said Lilly. She seated herself at the table and began to partake of the fare. This morning it was a sort of omelette and toasted bread. Although Eli didn't have much of an appetite Eli filled himself a bowl with the omelette and began to eat. His appetite soon returned. He hadn't eaten in at least a day and that was why he was so tired the day the day before. All too soon the meal was finished and Lilly began to clear away the plates and glasses. She took them into the kitchen and then re-emerged and sat back at the table.

"Ok, let's make a start" she said. " Jethro and I talked into the small hours. I think I understand what's going on now. I realise that the Archive played a major part in this mess that we are in and that for the most part I do believe she is sorry, she made a decision without thinking of the ramifications and the authority of her elders. Things happen. It's the way of the world. I feel sorry for her trapped her for so long. I think she thought she could help my people all those years ago, but she didn't think through the consequences of her actions, much like us with you Eli. We have taken you in on trust, to help you. Jethro thinks you had betrayed his trust when you revealed the Archive was a real person and then revealed what she had done. But if it wasn't you who had done it something else might have happened with the same result. So Eli what's your plan?"

Lilly looked at Eli waiting for an answer. Jethro looked down at the table top. Tracing invisible scratches with his fingers.

"The plan I have is simple really. We bury the gate. That way the Off Worlders can't come through anymore. We place a cover stone over the top of it and totally block it off. You don't use the gate so it won't matter." Said Eli.

Jethro finally raised his eyes to Eli and looked at him. Eli could see the hurt and betrayal that Jethro felt in his eyes and it was Elis turn to look down at the table.

"Lilly speaks the truth Eli. She can be very pragmatic when she wants. She has listened to both of us and she thinks like you do. The Archive isn't to blame. The Off Worlders may have come here at some point themselves, exploring like you did, even if the Archive hadn't introduced our peoples so long ago. As for your burying the gate. Is it that simple?" Jethro asked.

"In a nutshell yes "replied Eli. "We need a cover stone for it and I will need to go through before you close the gate for good. I will need to speak to the Amynta. I'm going to remove her collar, or at least try. She has been kept here long enough and she can help us."

"I don't think that's your decision to make. "Stated Jethro "She is paying for a mistake she made. She helped turn this world upside down, I'm not about to let her go"

Eli looked incredulously at Jethro. "You can't mean that? She has been stuck here for a thousand years. I think her debt is paid and she should be allowed to leave if she wants to!"

Jethro banged his fist on the table and Eli and Lilly both jumped. "I say she stays! The decision is not up to you! You are not of this world! I am!" Shouted Jethro.

"I'm sorry Jethro" stammered out Eli "But I think you are wrong"

"Still not your decision to make. She stays" stated Jethro.

"Now dear. We talked about this yesterday. I did say that the Archive should be released. She has been kept here long enough and last night you agreed" Interjected Lilly.

"Yes ,well, a man can change his mind if he wants to "He said

Eli looked on dismayed. He hadn't expected this. He didn't think keeping Amynta here was a good choice for her. She had been stuck here for so long. He decided there and then, with or without Jethros permission he was going to release her.

"I need to go and talk to Amynta today. I need her knowledge of the gate to make sure what I'm proposing is the right way to do this. Are you coming Jethro? "Asked Eli.

"You go ahead. I will be along later. Just don't touch anything!" He commanded

Eli looked at the ceiling. "I'm not going to touch anything. We need a cover stone and a few things to close the gate" said Eli.

Eli got up from the table. "I'll see you later Jethro" He said. "I won't touch anything Ok?"

Jethro just grunted at him and Eli went into the house and into his room to pick up his rucksack. He looked back up the hallway to the garden as he came out of his room and saw Lilly talking to jethro. She turned and looked at Eli and mouthed a see you later. Eli waved and turned away. He exited the house and made his way to the Archive and Amynta. He was definitely going to get that collar off her. She could decide for herself what to do after that.

Eli made his way down the valley to the forest further down. He passed the same people in the fields and waved as he went. He couldn't believe so much had happened in such a small expanse of time. He breathed in the early morning air. The heat of the day was beginning to rise and all the dew had disappeared from the grass verges and leaves. His walk was soon after and he navigated the path and looked for the familiar features that led him to the archive. He ducked under the vines and located the door and opened it. He stepped inside and was momentarily blind. It had been brighter than he thought outside and he had to let his eyes adjust. There was only one light on, in the archive room and Eli made his way into there.

As he entered he realised that a table and some chairs had been moved in and Amynta was sat at one looking at the door.

"How did it go last night?" She asked

"It didn't go as bad as I thought it would but Jethro doesn't believe that you have earned your freedom. He wants you to remain here for now"

"Well that's the least I could expect. So what have you decided to do?" She asked.

"We are going to bury the gate and put a cover stone on it. But Jethro will have to let me go through first so I can get back to my ship, then bury it." Eli explained. "But I want to take that collar off first. That's the least I can do for you"

"Thank you Eli, I've been trying to take it off for years and to be honest I don't think you can help me" Amynta replied.

"But at least I can try" pleaded Eli. "Can I have a look at it? I don't want to make you uncomfortable"

"Yes you can look at it but be careful. It has given me electric shocks in the past. "Replied Amynta.

Carefully Eli stood up and approached he just walked around her looking at the collar. It was certainly a beautiful piece of art. It was metallic and silver in colour and sat around her neck. Not quite a choker. It was beautifully engraved with a curves and swirls similar to those he had seen in the gate room. Carefully he picked it up from her skin. Amynta shivered involuntarily.

"Sorry" Apologised Eli

"It's alright. It's just no one has touched me in such a long time. I had forgotten what it was like" Amynta said.

It didn't weigh a lot either, it felt very thin too. He could see the marks in Amynta's skin where it had lain for so long. Eli ran his fingers around the length of it. He couldn't feel a beginning or an end or a catch of any sort to open it. It was a complete whole piece. It was fascinating. Then suddenly Eli jumped as he heard the outer door being tried and he dropped the collar quickly as if it was hot metal.

"Sorry. It will be Jethro. I had better let him in" apologised Eli.

He strode quickly for the door and turned the handle to let Jethro in. He opened the door and Jethro stood there resolute.

"Is she here?" He asked.

"Of course" replied Eli "She's not going anywhere at the moment"


	24. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"And that's the way it's going to remain!" stated Jethro. "I'm sure the lad here has told you of my decision?"

"Yes" replied Amynta. "You seem to have made yourself quite clear on that point."

Eli sat in the middle chair of the table and gestured to Jethro to sit in the chair facing Amynta. Jethro sat, but he didn't look comfortable. He placed his hands on the table and looked around the room. Stubborn and adamant he wasn't going to give anyone the chance to look him in the eye. Eli looked at Jethro.

"I'm sure we can discuss this situation like adults. Amynta has been here a very long time. Don't you think she deserves to be released?" Pleaded Eli.

"I've already said my piece and as far as I'm concerned here is where she stays and I've made that very clear. "Replied Jethro, jabbing his finger on the table top.

"But Jethro it's not just your decision to make. It should involve the whole valley." Said Eli.

"I can't do that. How do I explain to everyone…?" Jethro stopped talking as the lights flickered.

Amynta stood straight up, looking shocked. "They're here!"

"Who?" Asked Eli.

"The Off Worlders, my lights always dim when the gate is activated. Who else could it be?" Amynta asked.

Now Jethro stood up. "Are you sure?" He looked about him wildly. "Eli you will have to stay here. I'm going to find out what's going on"

With that Jethro strode through to the hallway and out of the main door and disappeared into the forest. Eli closed the door and locked it. He made his way back into the archive room. He was shocked and puzzled.

"Why would they come back so soon?" he asked.

"I don't know" said Amynta "but they have never returned so quickly after tribute. Something must be wrong. I hope Jethro is safe"

"Maybe I should go and take a look" said Eli

"But you can't! It's not safe and what if they find you?" replied Amynta

"I can look after myself" Said Eli confidently smiling.

"Not this time Eli. They are usually heavily armed. Really it isn't safe. You are better staying out of harm's way and safe here"

Eli looked towards the door that opened into the forest. He was torn. He felt like he really should go out there and see if he could help Jethro. But at the same time he didn't want to expose Jethro to reprisals if he was discovered. Helplessly he turned away from the door. "Yes you're right Amynta. I would only put people in danger. But I can't just sit here and do nothing"

Eli began to pace the room. Amynta looked on in dismay. The time dragged. Minutes turned into half an hour. That half an hour turned into two hours. Eli continued to pace. He was getting really worried now. Jethro should have been back long ago. Amynta on the other hand,sat and waited calmly.

"How can you just sit there?" Exploded Eli eventually. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout but how can you stay so calm?"

"Try years of practise" Amynta stated. "I have sat and waited a long time for people to discover me. I don't see people for days and I don't know what's going on unless someone comes and tells me. I have learnt to not read into situations too much. But instead to be patient and wait to see what arises"

"I'm going crazy waiting and not knowing" Eli answered. He continued to pace. He tried to sit down but he couldn't even sit still and got back up again. He paced some more and then he purposefully headed for the door to leave.

"Where are you going?" Amynta demanded.

"To see if there is anything I can do. I can't just sit here and wait any longer. I've got to see what's going on and maybe see if I can help" Eli replied.

He began to unlock the door to leave and Amynta placed her hand on his.

"Don't do this Eli. It's not just you who will be in danger. I won't be able to help you.

"That's fine. I understand. But I can't just sit here. Lock the door after me "Eli shouted.

Eli unlocked the door and carefully opened it. He took a cautious look outside. All was quiet and he stepped outside. Amynta tried to keep a grip on his hand but instead of stopping him, she was pulled outside the Archive. She held onto his arm and pleaded with him to stop.

"Eli you can't endanger yourself or the others!" She pleaded.

Eli stared at Amynta wide eyed. "What?" she asked looking to see what had caused him to look at her in such a way.

"You're outside!" Eli said "You're outside!" Eli took a step away from Amynta

Amynta looked down at herself and realised that Eli had dragged her outside. She turned and looked around her. How different everything looked. She touched herself. Yes it was real. She was outside and unharmed. Nothing at all had happened. Eli stood looking on for a few more seconds.

"Look, as amazing as this is I have to go now" Eli said as he began walking away. Backwards at first as he spoke and the he quickly turned away and began to hurry. He had waited far too long and he didn't feel good about this.

"Wait for me!" shouted Amynta and followed behind Eli. Running she caught up to him. "I'm coming with you."

"Just don't get in my way and stay under cover when we get there. The last thing I need is a dead ancient on my hands" said Eli as he hurried through the trees to the path.

"They can't harm me Eli. I've ascended remember" stated Amynta.

"But we don't know if your powers can be used and if you do use them then what? Will the others come and punish you again?" said Eli

"I hadn't thought of that. But I want to help" replied Amynta.

"Then make sure you stay hidden"

The two of them hurried through the trees and found the path. Eli looked around him as he walked and semi jogged. He had become fitter in the last couple of months. Well, there had been little to do on Destiny. Food was rationed and he had managed to lose a bit of weight and all that running round the ship had made him fitter than he had ever been. It felt good too. The diet of fruit was a bonus.

He looked up the valley but couldn't see anything untoward. He passed the field where earlier he had waved hello to one of the villagers. But the field was empty. The sun beat down and Eli began to sweat as he rushed to find out what had happened, whilst he waited for Jethro to return. Soon he came near to the village in the forest. It was eerily quiet. Too quiet. He couldn't hear a bird chirp or the noise of the villages doing their day to day chores.

Soon he reached Jethros' house. The front door was wide open and Eli rushed inside shouting Jethro as he went. The house was dark and empty. The table in the reception room had been knocked over along with a jug and some glasses. Now Eli was really worried.

"Whose house is this?" Amynta asked. Eli nearly jumped out of his skin. He had forgotten that Amynta was with him.

"This is Jethros house and now I'm really worried. Lilly would not have left the house in this state. Something is seriously wrong here" Eli said.

An ache began in his belly. It was one of fear and loathing. He knew that the pair of them must be in some serious trouble and the ache got bigger when he thought he might even be the cause of it.

"Stay behind me and when I tell you to hide, I want you to hide" said Eli to Amynta. Amynta opened her mouth to argue but Eli held his hand up. "No arguments. I don't want anyone else in danger here".

"If that's what you wish then I will do as you ask" Amynta replied.

The pair of them left the house and quietly made their way to the clearing where Eli had met Jethro just a couple of days before. Eli, felt like weeks had passed. Had it only been a couple of days? Moving off the path and using the trees for cover Eli and Amynta made their way to the clearing. Eli slowed down. He didn't want any more nasty surprises.

As they approached the clearing Eli could hear voices. Voices, that were strange to him and were heavily accented. Eli reached the last of the trees before the clearing and carefully looked through the leaves of the bushes. He saw some of the villagers and some people he had never seen before. There were eight of them. They were very tall and were dressed in tight black leather. A tunic and leggings, that seemed to be made of many strips of material sewn together. And in a holster on their hips were a type of gun. Eli assumed it was a weapon of some sort. They had all got long shaggy hair that seemed to have been unwashed for months and they all had some sort of stubbly beard. Then he saw Jethro. Amynta saw him too and gasped. He was stood between two of the strangers who seemed to be holding him up. His face was swollen almost beyond recognition. Blood dripped from a large gash across his forehead. His clothes were dirty and in places covered with more blood and torn.

"Where are you hiding him? I am losing patience with you!" The stranger shouted at Jethro. He seemed to be the leader of this band of strangers. He nodded across to another two men who turned towards Jethro. They had Lilly between them. She looked unharmed.

"Don't you tell them anything Jethro!" She shouted. One of the men slapped Lilly viciously across the face and Lilly fell to the ground. Roughly they picked her up and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Jethro looked on appalled.

The leader then turned to a young boy. He dressed similarly to them. He had a bald head and the leader questioned him. But, in a much kinder way. He knelt at the height of the boy.

"Tell me what you saw?" Asked the leader.

The boy looked afraid and haltingly replied.

"He came though the magic gate, a stranger; he gave me back my ball"

"Does the boy lie?" Demanded the man of Jethro and he stepped towards him menacingly. Eli realised it was the boy he had met on his first day, and then realised with sadness this boy must have been taken as tribute. Eli knew he had to do something before anyone was harmed any more or even killed.

"Amynta whatever you do, do not reveal yourself. These people need you" He said. Then he stepped from the trees.

"Let them go! It's me you want!" stated Eli.

Jethro looked at Eli; totally defeated he hung his head. "It's Ok Jethro" said Eli. "It's ok"

"Let them go!" Eli stated again. With a nod of his head, the leader motioned for the two men to let Jethro go. He fell to the ground, weakened and hurt. They let go of Lilly too and she ran to Jethro. Crying she touched his face and made him look at her. She wiped away the dirt and blood from his face and eyes and hugged him close. Looking over her shoulder she looked pityingly at Eli. Sorrow filled her eyes as tears tracked down her face.

"So you are the stranger?" Said the Leader. "I am Blaylock. You will come with me"

"Only when you leave these people alone" stated Eli.

The leader took a deep breath "And if I don't?"

"I will make you wish you had. Leave these people alone. You have me now" said Eli.

"Brave words from such a small person. But I will leave them alone… for now at least. You will come with us. These people can return to their village" He motioned to Eli "Come"

Eli walked over to the Off Worlders and they began to walk towards where the gate was. Eli followed; he looked back once as they made their way across the clearing to the path through the trees. Jethro had been helped up by the others and helplessly he looked on as Eli crossed the clearing.

Watching all this was Amyna. She couldn't let them take Eli but she didn't know what she could do to change anything. She emerged from the trees as the Eli and the Off Worlders disappeared into the trees across from her. The villagers looked on incredulously, as this beautiful woman they had never seen before ran across the clearing in pursuit of the Off Worlders.

Jethro saw her too "No!" he shouted. Amynta looked back at him and then turned away to follow the group in front of her. She was unsure of what she could achieve. The collar would certainly stop her from doing anything. But the more Amynta thought about it the more she wondered about what she could do.

Silently she followed behind them and saw them enter a part of the original base. She stared at it in wonder and amazement at how it had remained intact. They were at the door way now, she had to do something. But what? They opened the doors and entered and as the door shut Amynta made her way inside behind them. She hugged the once familiar corridor walls. They opened another set of doors and entered the hall with the glass dome. Amynta was speechless. How had that survived? The rainbow colours shone down but noted that these strangers didn't seem to hold any of this in awe. Eli was now in the hands of one of the Off Worlders who pulled him roughly along. The door shut and her view was blocked. She gave them a few moments to get ahead of her and then she opened the door and sped across the hall. The door had just closed as she got there. So she again waited for a few moments and then opened the door. They were just ahead of her around the corner. Amynta still wondered what she could do. She knew that at any moment they would enter the gate room. Then she heard the door opening and then heard someone dial an address. It was now or never. Amynta strode purposefully up the corridor and entered the gate room as the event horizon opened.

"Let him go!" She demanded.

The leader looked at her and laughed.

"I don't think I am going to give up my prize to a woman!" He replied sarcastically. "Especially one as small as you"

"This is your last chance" she stated. Eli looked on in horror.

"What are you doing here?" He shouted at her. "I told you to stay safe"

"I've done enough hiding and staying safe. No more!" She said.

This was it, it was now or never.

Amynta took a deep breath and all hell let lose.

Eli looked on amazed. Amynta became a great ball of light and she 'gathered ' up the Off Worlders before disappearing through the gate she looked at Eli. "I should have done this a long time ago" She said and she disappeared through the gate, leaving Eli alone in the room. Eli stood there stunned.

"I knew she would leave the first chance she got" said Jethro behind Eli.

Eli jumped around not realising he was there. Jethro stood there supported by a couple of the village men holding scythes and rakes.

"Told you so." He stated. The gate room was now dark and the only light came from the opened door.

"She saved me didn't she" said Eli. "And she took the Off Worlders with her"

"That might be so but why didn't she do more? Why didn't she kill those men?" Jethro asked.

"Because she has a collar, that her people put on her, to stop her using her powers" replied Eli "That's why she has been stuck here all these years Jethro!"

"That might be so. But what do we do now?" Asked Jethro.

"Well I think it's time to put my plan into action. We need to bury the gate. We need a cover stone to stop anyone from gaining access to this world. And I think it's time for me to go home" said Eli.

"I agree we need to make sure that the Off Worlders take no more of our children and we no longer have to give tribute" said Jethro. "You and Tully there can guard the gate. If it starts to move or make any noise you run boys and warn the villagers. We are going to fight back!"

As everyone began to walk away, the gate began to light up and turn. An address was being dialled in.

"Not so soon" said Jethro "Were not ready"

"Then fight with what we do have!" Shouted Eli

The event horizon shimmered and the shot outwards towards the villagers. The villagers threw themselves to the floor afraid of the unknown. Only Eli stood his ground. The event horizon settled and everyone flew out of the room and stood behind the door to see who or what was coming through. They continued to watch as a small person appeared and then another and another. They were the children that had been taken by the Off Worlders previously. In all eight children emerged including the small boy Eli had returned the football to. Last came Amynta. Everyone still stood behind the door, mouths opened and then one of the villagers flew forward.

"My boy… My boy. "He said over and over and he touched and stroked the boy not believing his boy was here.

Eli re-entered the room. "What did you do?" He said amazed.

"What I should have done a long time ago. The Off Worlders will not be bothering you anymore. I've made sure of that. And I found what children I could and brought them back." Replied Amynta.

Eli looked at Amynta "The collar. It's gone" He said.

"Yes" replied Amynta" It was only I, which stopped me, from doing what I should. Its took a thousand years to put someone before me. I am so sorry Jethro. I just didn't realise."

"Well at least you brought our children back to us. We never thought we would see them again. And for that I thank you. I know now that I cannot stop you from leaving our world. It was arrogant of me to think I could. So I have learnt a lesson today too" Jethro said to Amynta.

"So what are we going to do now?" Asked Eli.

"Well I do not need the gate to travel but you do. I think you should gather your things and return from whence you came. You have helped this community and myself but I am sure you wish to go home" Amynta replied.

"Oh yes. I only came here originally to have a look at some ancient ruins. I didn't think I could get myself into so much trouble." Eli replied, relieved that at last it was all over.

"Come to my house" suggested jethro. "You can eat a farewell meal with us before you leave. You have to come anyway. Your things are still there".

"Ok "Eli said "I will have one last meal. But what about the gate?"

"You leave the gate to me" Amynta told Eli. "I will sort everything. I need to help these people now. You have done your bit, now let me do mine"

Eli and Amynta returned to Jethro's house and saw the children welcomed back by their parents. The relief on their faces was something Eli would remember for all time. Tears of happiness and joy poured down everyone's faces. Even Eli had a big grin on his face and he shed his own tears seeing all the joy and happiness around him.

He ate his last meal with Lilly and Jethro and some of the villagers joined them. There was much shaking of hands and patted backs and Eli was loathe to leave. Evening had come and everyone had celebrated and one by one they had all returned home until it was only Jethro, Lilly and Amynta.

Eli returned to his room to claim his belongings. He really didn't want to leave but knew his journey and his allegiance were elsewhere. He hugged Lilly and shook hands with Jethro.

"Will we see each other again?" Asked Lilly "I liked having you here. It felt good to look after someone else" Lilly smiled and hugged Eli again. Her eyes teared up and so dis Eli's. He had a huge lump in his throat and tears ran down his face.

"I wished I didn't have to go" Said a tearful Eli. "I really liked it here. But you are going to bury the gate and I won't be able to return that way. My journey lies far from here. But maybe on my way back I might be able to visit using one of Destiny's supply ships." He gave Lilly one last hug. Jethro held out his hand and pulled Eli to him. He gave him a big bear hug.

"I'm going to miss you boy. It was good having you around. We never could have children of our own. I'd like to think if we had a son maybe he would have been a bit like you" admitted Jethro.

Eli was speechless. He just hugged him back.

"I'm sure going to miss you" He stated "I hope everything goes well"

He made his way to the front door and turned once more.

"Bye" Eli said simply. "Maybe one day I might be able to come back"

He made his way out of the door and headed for the clearing. Amynta walked with him. He turned to wave at Lilly and Jethro but he had to turn away as tears fell from his face. He breathed in big gulps of air to calm himself and he wiped the tears away and sniffed.

"Are you going to be alright?" Amynta asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I am going to miss Jethro and Lilly though. I really did make a connection here and I'm sad at leaving" Eli admitted.

In silence they walked the rest of the way to the gate, through the clearing and the trees. There was a full moon which lit up everywhere like it was day. They reached the base and opened the doors to enter and reach the gate room.

"What are you going to do" Asked Eli.

"Well I'm going to stay here for a while and see what I can do to help these people. At some point I might move on but for now I'm happy here"

"That's good" replied Eli "

He turned away from Amynta and began to dial Destiny. The gate lit up and the event horizon punched its way out and then settled.

Amynta took Eli's hands in hers. "Thank you Eli for believing in me" She said simply "Have a safe journey to where ever you are going"

"Thank you "said Eli "I won't forget this place in a hurry "He said.

He let go of Amynta's hands and headed for the gate. He turned and took one last look before stepping through the gate.

He was back home at last. The event horizon disappeared and he was left in the dark in the gate room.

"No one left a light on" He said more to himself than anyone else. Then some lights flickered on and Eli saw Franklin, standing and waiting.


	25. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Eli stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the bags of supplies he was carrying and stared at Franklin. Franklin stood there his hands clasped together and looked passively at Eli. Eli shook his head and looked to the floor. Then he looked up and exploded.

"This was all you wasn't it?" he shouted at Franklin. "And don't tell me it wasn't"

He marched towards Franklin. Franklin didn't move but carried on staring at Eli. As Eli got closer Franklin held up his hands.

"I can explain everything" He said calmly.

Eli still barrelled towards him and as he reached him Franklin disappeared. Eli swung round and looked for Franklin and then faced where Franklin suddenly reappeared.

"You can't avoid me that easily. Who do you think you are manipulating me in such a way as my life is on the line? How dare you!" Eli ranted. "Do you know something this almost like being with Rush again!"

"Eli, I had no other choice. I wasn't allowed to intervene Eli. I needed your help" Franklin replied.

"You could have asked. It's not that hard to do! I thought I could at least trust you. But no. Because you're like them you think you have some sort of God like existence. I'm not a puppet and I won't be played for one!" Eli ranted

"I'm sorry you feel like that Eli. Please let me explain" Franklin pleaded.

"It's a bit late now isn't it? I feel so used. Why did I ever think I could trust you?" Eli sneered.

"Eli!" Admonished a shocked Franklin "There is no need to be so hostile!"

"Oh really" Eli shrugged his rucksack off his shoulders and threw it to the ground "How about I was nearly killed! Or maybe I came close to never being able to return to Destiny or how about I could have become a prisoner on a strange world, with no chance of seeing home again!" Eli bent down and retrieved his bag. "I'm going to see if my pod is ok and how long I have left to sleep and I hope to God you put Destiny back where it belongs"

Eli began to leave the Gate room and Franklin followed him. Franklin knew he had to save this situation and fast.

"Leave me alone!" Eli shouted without ever looking back and carried on storming towards the life pod room. Franklin stopped in his tracks unsure of what to do. Eli's feet punched the floor. He had never been so angry in all his life. How dare Franklin use him in that way? He banged the controls on the doors and waited impatiently for them to open before storming through and making his way to what was hopefully a peaceful rest. He continued berating Franklin as he went. He reached the corridor leading to the pod room and banged on the control. This corridor had been inaccessible before he left. The door opened and Eli made his way down the corridor. He opened the pod room door and walked towards his pod. As he did he checked Rush was still in his pod and then looked in on Colonel Young.

Eli suddenly stood stock still. 'Hold on a minute' He thought to himself He began to think back. What had all the security been for? Why had the corridor been sealed off? What the hell was going on? Eli retrieved his hand held out of his ruck sack and threw the rucksack back on the floor and made his way out of the pod room. He decided he needed to head to the main bridge. That's where he found most of his answers.

He made his way down the corridors thinking about what had gone on for the last couple of days, and, it was days though it felt like weeks. He wondered what Franklin was up to. He had almost made his way to the bridge and went past Franklin's room. The door was open again and almost on auto pilot he reached his hand out to close the door. Then he saw Franklin in there and Eli marched in. He looked squarely into Franklins face.

"Ok out with it. What's been going on here? Why did you bring us to this planet? Why did I have to go crawling round a maintenance corridor? Why did I have to risk my life down there?" Eli demanded.

"Well I couldn't help the girl myself. They would have noticed and I would have been punished and the girl will serve a very important part in what goes on in the galaxy and it will be like ripples on a pond. It's too big a story for you to understand. I'm sorry I didn't warn you but I couldn't" Explained Franklin.

"Nope not buying it. There was something more and you had better tell me or so help me, I don't know what I will be capable of!" Eli was getting more and more frustrated. Franklin was sending him round in circles and he was getting nowhere. He continued to stare at Franklin. But Franklin couldn't hold the stare and looked down at the ground. After a few seconds he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, almost composing himself.

"There was something, but it's been sorted and taken care of. I think" said Franklin "I had a problem, hence the corridor being shut down" He held his hands out as he spoke almost pleading with Eli.

"And what was the something?" Eli asked.

"I can't tell you." Franklin was adamant that he wasn't going to tell.

"If you don't tell me, I will find out one way or the other. I would rather hear it from you first though" Eli wasn't going to let him off the hook.

Exasperated Franklin began to pace the room. He wrung his hands. He had a decision to make and by the look of things to Eli, this was going to be a biggy. Eventually Franklin stopped pacing and looked at Eli.

"I let it go" Franklin said simply.

"Why are you being so cryptical? Let what go?" Eli was now rapidly losing patience with Franklin. He could feel his temper rising and in a few moments he was going to blow. But he tried to keep his voice steady.

Franklin bit his lip. This person Eli was looking at was far removed from the confident ascended being he had met a while ago. He hadn't a clue what Franklin was talking about. Franklin looked at Eli again. He looked unsure of what to say and Eli could see Franklins mind working overtime to explain.

"While you were asleep…" Began Franklin.

"Yes" Eli answered.

"I investigated some of the ship… Well I entered some of the store rooms knowing what was in them from Destiny's data banks" Continued Franklin.

"Ok" That was something Eli needed to know about, he thought to himself. There might be supplies the crew could need.

"I entered one store room not knowing what I might find. So I decided to investigate. That's when it happened" Franklin stopped.

"What happened? "Asked Eli. Still trying to keep his voice even and calm but slowly this façade was breaking.

"Well what I didn't know, was that some of the storage boxes were actually pods. Not sophisticated like yours but basic ones to store specimens. And I let one go… by accident" Franklin explained to Eli.

"So let me get this right. You went exploring…Ok. Without knowing what was in the storage boxes. Surely these pods had some sort of lock on them to stop them being opened by accident?" Eli questioned.

"Well yes but I opened it any way. That's when it got out and created havoc in the ship. It got into Destiny's systems and tampered with them. It was the fairy that took us to this planet and that's when your emergency cut in and triggered. There was nothing I could do. So I sort of pushed you in the right direction to do some of the saving of lives I couldn't. While I dealt with the problem" Explained Franklin.

"I'm still no nearer knowing what you are talking about" Eli stated.

Franklin rubbed his ear and then pulled his hand through his hair.

"It was a fairy" Franklin said simply.

"A fairy… A little being with wings, lots of glitter, magic wand and flies?" Asked Eli sarcastically. "You will have to do better than that"

"Fairy is the only name I can give it. It's the only thing you can equate it to" Franklin continued.

Now it was Elis turn to run his hands through his hair. "A Fairy?" He asked.

Franklin just nodded. "I can show you" Volunteered Franklin.

"Be my guest" Replied Eli bowing and pointing his hands towards the door "Show me the way"

Eli followed Franklin through the door and followed him along some corridors he hadn't been to before and then he did recognise something. They were near the Captain's cabin. Eli now had an idea of where he was. Franklin finally stopped before a store room door and proceeded to open it.

It was like some of the other store rooms Eli had investigated. There were some boxes piled one on top of another. Others stood alone and then Eli saw one that was open. Franklin looked at the same box horrified.

"Nooo." He wailed

"What?" Asked Eli. A ball of fear began to grow in his gut. He didn't have a very good feeling about this.

"She's out again!" Franklin exclaimed. "I've only just got her back in and she's got out again!"

The hairs on Eli's neck began to rise and he shuddered. "How bad is it that this fairy has escaped?" He asked. Knowing from Franklin's reaction this must be really bad and to be honest he didn't want to hear it.

"Look, when she got out last time she brought us here. She thought she was helping. Everything was so mixed up. She knew that this girl on the planet was something important but I didn't think she would bring us here; I'm sure I can get us back on course and hope the Elders don't notice. Anyway, I'd just managed to get her back in her pod as you were coming back. I was trying to figure a way to get us back to where we started but I couldn't find a star chart that Destiny could recognise, to plot a course home. I don't want to use my powers because it will be noted. But it's all gone wrong Eli. Now she's out again. "Franklin looked around not knowing where to look or what to do.

"And what is this 'fairy' like?" Asked Eli

Franklin looked thoroughly defeated. "She's not nice for starters." He ran his hand through his hair "She's not evil or nasty or anything like that but she only has her own interests at heart. To her we are a … a… We are like an annoying mosquito that buzzes around your ear. To her we are insignificant and she thinks that humans are an infestation in the ship. I had to seal off the corridor to deflect her to go somewhere else. It's a nightmare Eli" Franklin admitted. "I'm new to all this and I haven't a clue. I've made a real mess of things"

Eli stared at Franklin not knowing how to answer him. He realised that the ship was somewhere no one knew, not even Franklin. He'd gone down to the planet and for all he knew, this fairy thing, whatever it was, could have left him marooned there.

"So why did you let me go down to the planet?" Eli raged.

"I had no choice Eli." Franklin replied. "As I explained she has her own interests at heart. If I hadn't let you go down there I honestly don't know what she would have done to me or you or Destiny for that matter. She seems more interested in seeing how she can manipulate everyone and everything and she's getting some sort of malevolent pleasure out of seeing what unfolds"

Suddenly they felt Destiny moving under their feet but she wasn't in FTL. The air around them roared. Franklin looked horrified and Eli had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Franklin groaned.

"She's at it again!" He shouted.

"We need to get to the bridge!" Shouted Eli over the noise. "We need to see what's going on!"

"I can get us there quicker. Hold on Eli"

Before he knew it Eli suddenly found himself on the bridge of Destiny. It was empty and dark. Not even Franklin was there. The shield was still over the viewing window and Eli made his way to the console on the chair and tapped the control to open the window. The roar was getting louder and louder and it was slowly turning into a scream. Eli tried covering his ears but the noise just got louder and louder. It felt like it was inside his head. Eli's eyes began to water and he cried out in pain. The shield slowly began to open and Eli saw and amazing panorama in front of him. He could see space passing them amazingly fast. The amazing colours Eli loved to see no longer undulated past the ship. They flew past so quickly Eli had trouble watching it. Every now and again sparkles appeared and seemed to fly into Destiny.

Eli didn't think he could take anymore. He thought his head was going to burst with the noise. The roaring was now an ear piercing scream and Eli realised he was losing consciousness. He cried out one more time and he fell to the floor. Destiny continued hurtling through space. Eli was totally unaware of anything around him.

In the darkness at the corners of the bridge, a small figure moved. It remained in the darkness but made its way over to Eli. Slowly a small, delicate hand with slightly elongated fingers touched Eli's brow. Then was gone. The bridge was lit only from the light from the viewing window and the scream filled the whole ship…


	26. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Eli" A voice said in the distance.

"Eli" It said again. "Wake up"

"Leave me be, I've got a headache like you wouldn't believe" mumbled Eli.

"Eli" Said the voice again but nearer this time "You need to wake up!"

Eli slowly opened his eyes, and then screwed them back up again. Oh the light was so bright! It made his head ache even more and it made his eyes hurt. Then he remembered where he was and what had happened and he opened them again. Slowly he focused on the voice.

"Eli! Answer me! Wake up! You can't stay there we have to find her before its too late!"

Eli focused on the voice again.

"Franklin? What happened? Where are we?"

"Well it looks like we're back where we started. I don't know what games she is playing but we need to be on our guard. Come on Eli up you get" said Franklin helping Eli up.

Eli looked through the bridge window at the vista he was more familiar with.

"Back where we started?" Asked Eli.

"Yes" Replied Franklin" Look at the clock on your console"

Eli looked at the time frame on the nearest console. Just like franklin said according to the time frame they hadn't lost a day. Eli looked at it and frowned.

"I don't understand" He said simply.

"It's her" replied Franklin. "She's up to something but I don't know what. Let's get you to the mess hall. You need something to eat and drink"

Franklin turned to leave the bridge and Eli followed still a little groggy.

"You're going to have to tell me a little more about this race were dealing with now" Said Eli. "I want to know what we're dealing with"

"As soon as we have you sat down in the mess I will tell you what I've found out from the Others. It's not a lot but it might help us deal with this problem"

Eli and Franklin made their way to the Mess hall and Eli gratefully took a seat when he arrived.

"I've took the liberty of going through the supplies you were given, I think it's advisable to eat the perishables first "Stated Franklin.

Eli looked across the table and saw various fruit and vegetables laid out.

"Looks like I'm going to have to learn to cook" He noted.

He made himself a plate of fresh fruit, some salad vegetables and cheese, and then poured himself a generous cup of water.

"Ok Franklin" Eli said. "Start at the beginning of what you know and we will go from there"

Franklin began his tale about the Fairy people and where their origins lay.

Franklin went on to explain that their world was a beautiful verdant world similar to Earth. They were extremely advanced as a race. The only problem was that they were a selfish race with a few exceptions. There were a number of different races within their own race we've called them Elves, Goblins and Fairies. There were the Fairies, who on the whole, seemed to manage and govern the rest of the others. Even though they tried to be good, they were expert at interfering with other races off world. To the point where, every advanced race, would not allow them to visit their worlds. They became isolated over time and never became part of the great gathering with the other races like the Furling's, the Nox and the Ancients.

Then they had another problem. They found their world would be destroyed by a supernova. The other races helped them to find other worlds they could live on and most were happy to do this but some just couldn't help themselves and they began a great journey through the universe as stowaways.

Every ship that travelled would be checked over for stowaways and every traveller had themselves and their baggage searched for stowaways too and if any fairies were caught, they were imprisoned and taken to a safe planet where they couldn't do any harm. As stowaways, they caused havoc on the ship they travelled on and the worlds they managed to get to.

This was how they became legend in various forms on many worlds in folklore. That's how they got to Earth. They stowed away on an Ancient ship that was travelling to Earth or managed to hide in supplies that were being shipped. Earth was a Fairies paradise. The people were not advanced and believed the fairies to be magic and god like. The Ancients for their part tried to hunt them down and return them to a safer place but they were too quick and the Earth had so many places for the Fairies to hide. The fairies couldn't help themselves and had interfered with human life ever since. These stories became our folklore and various civilisations wrote great epics about a few who really made a name for themselves and called themselves gods. On the whole the Fairies on Earth weren't too bad and didn't interfere too much and in some cases were actually kind and helpful and eventually, as man evolved and became more advanced, the Fairies faded away. Some left the Earth, some just decided to keep themselves to themselves, realising that the human race could discover their true nature and possibly hunt them down and eradicate them. At the time Destiny was travelling through space, Fairies were still encountered. Franklin therefore assumed that one had been found and put in stasis until a safe planet could be reached and the Fairy released.

"Wow" said a stunned but still disbelieving Eli "So you want me to believe that all these fairy stories on our planet are based on magical stowaways?"

"They aren't magical! They are advanced beings and Fairy is the name they were called on earth. But look at the culture on Earth. You had the Vikings with Oden and Thor and the Roman tales of the Titans fighting against their other Gods. That was the Fairy fighting between themselves. Remember when they got to Earth the human race wasn't very advanced at all it was positively in the dark ages. All the civilisations on the Earth were affected and they all have their folklore dating back to the dark ages. Have you ever wondered why they were dark? No, forget I said that." Explained Franklin.

"The dark ages? You know why they were dark?" Asked Eli

"I can't tell you any more Eli. I've said too much already. Now you know what you need to know. Think of all the folk lore on Earth. Think how far- fetched it sounds but it's actually based on fact!" replied Franklin.

"Ok. I will go with that. But how do we catch this Fairy? And anyway what is their proper name?" Asked Eli.

"Their real name is the Vorradians. Their world had been called Vorrad." Answered Franklin.

"This is a lot to take in Franklin. I'm still not sure if I believe it all. It's so far- fetched" Eli said. "My heads aching just trying to take all this in and it totally turns everything I knew on its head." Eli paused and thought for a minute. "So where is this Vorradian now?"

"I can't find her. But that doesn't mean she's not here. They can phase in and out. That's how they get to places and how they hide." Franklin replied. "I'm new to all this being here and there. The others do it in the wink of an eye. I have to really think about it. I think it's because I'm not an advanced being like them, I've never experienced it enough to do it" Franklin held his head in his hands. "I'm not good at being an ascended being. I feel like I'm a child to them"

Eli looked incredulously at Franklin and stared. He really wasn't sure what to say.

"You have the whole Universe at your fingertips! What I wouldn't do to get the chance" Eli exclaimed.

"Be careful what you wish for Eli. I even think you would find this hard to deal with" replied Franklin. Suddenly Franklin looked about him. "I have to go Eli. I'm sorry to leave you like this but I have a few things to attend to"

Eli looked at the sudden empty space in front of him. He was alone again. He looked around him and wondered what to do with himself. He eventually got up and decided to look at what supplies he had and sort them into meals. He was going to have to cook some of the root vegetables. There was a small cooking unit that had been rigged up that hadn't been used in a while. Eli decided to give it a good clean and get it working. It would give him time to think while he did it, he found jobs like this quite therapeutic. He needed some tools, he thought. So he made his way to the store room to get some tools. He was in a little world of his own and he felt really good. He even started to whistle as he walked down the corridor.

It was when he was opening one of the doors and turned down the corridor that he heard a little girl giggling. Eli stopped in his tracks. The noise had stopped. He looked around and couldn't see anything unusual. He carried on and he heard it again. Again he stopped. Frowning he looked around him. He stood still but couldn't hear anything except the ship.

"I'm losing it" he thought to himself. "I've been on my own too long. The sooner this journey is over the better"

He began walking down the corridor again but this time being more aware of what was around him. There it was again the giggling and he was sure it was straight ahead of him. He was just approaching the corner, when out of the corner of his eye he saw something like a shadow. Eli hurried ahead to see if he could see anything. As he turned the corner the door at the end of the corridor was just closing. Eli stopped. His heart suddenly began to beat faster and his breath came quicker.

"Franklin? Is that you?" Eli said in a loud whisper. "If it is answer me and stop playing games"

No reply came back and Eli knew he had to go through that door to get the tools he needed. Hesitantly and with slower steps he walked to the door and pushed the control to open it. He stood there and waited for the door to open. He looked through but didn't walk through. He put his hand at the side of the door so it didn't close. He couldn't see anything and he knew he had to walk through and get to the tool room. Carefully he walked through and he looked around. He couldn't see anything or hear anything. So he made his way to the tool room. He opened the door. Again he looked through before entering but he couldn't see anything. He entered the room and looked around and still totally spooked he went from shelf to shelf and picked up what he needed.

Satisfied he turned to leave. As he went to open the door it opened in front of him. Eli stopped in his tracks. He had started to feel less jumpy. Now his nerves screamed at him and his heart thumped against his ribs. He could feel a cold sweat trickle down his back and he broke out in goose bumps. "Where was Franklin when he needed him" He thought to himself. Carefully he edged through the door and looked both ways. Nothing. He stepped out and looked again. Nothing. Eli really didn't feel good about what was happening. He had to get back to the mess hall.

He took a deep breath and began to make his way back. Then he heard it. He heard giggling. He opened the next doorway and looked through. The giggling stopped again. Eli continued going back as he turned a corner, he saw a small figure dash round the corner before him. Eli stopped. It had moved that fast he wasn't sure what he had seen. Eli knew it was the only way back and he was going to have to continue. But now he was very cautious. The giggling began again Eli turned the corner and saw the small figure of a young girl, just in front of him and dashing ahead. She looked to be about the size of an eight or nine year old. To Eli she looked like she was dressed like the character of Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, in a beautiful blue satin dress, she even had the long blonde hair. She wore ankle socks and little black pumps.

She dashed out of sight. Eli stopped. He didn't know whether to go on or not. Then he could hear a nursery rhyme

"Ring a ring of roses…."

Then it trailed off. Eli was seriously scared. He knew he was being played with and didn't know what to do. His scalp prickled and the cold sweat trickled down his spine. He had to make a choice of what to do. But he didn't know what to do. His heart continued to thump and his hands were trembling. Franklin had told him that these Vorradians were evil. He suddenly made a decision. He quickly turned on his heel and began to hurry down the corridor back the way he had come, past the tool room and through another door. His breath was coming in short gasps. He quickly turned another corner and punched the control to open the door. He danced from foot to foot and hurried through the door as it opened not waiting for it to open fully and punched the control to close it as he went through. He looked back to see if he was being followed. His steps became quicker and his heart rate increased. He looked about him as he rushed and then seemed to recognise where he was. He stopped outside of the door and punched the control to open it and rushed inside, punching the control once more to close the door.

He looked around him, at the slightly worn desk and the window, which had held his first view of the planet he had visited. He was in the Captain's cabin. He sat at the desk and dropped the bag of tools on the floor. Then touched the control to bring up the console. This was going to be his eyes and ears to see if he could find the Vorradian. He reached down and picked up the bag of tools and brought out his hand held. He needed to look for any signs of life on the ship. Then realised this was going to be harder said than done. He was going to have to find a way to track this being even when phasing. Why was nothing easy he thought?

Eli sat back in the Captain's chair and realised for the second time how mortal he was and how fragile his hold on life could be. He was up against a being he knew nothing about. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his hands. He felt so overwhelmed. The suddenly he looked up. He was in the Captain's cabin. Surely there was a log here. Eli began to search through Destiny's data base. He needed information and fast.


	27. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Eli called up what he thought was the Captains log. Well, he was in the Captain's cabin. There weren't many references but he did find some. Apparently, this creature had stowed away aboard Destiny before they had even launched her on her journey through space. There was a fitting crew on board checking her systems and storing supplies for when Destiny was launched. The fairy caused havoc before they caught her and it ended up with a lot of the crew using the Stargate to leave for their own safety, leaving a skeleton crew to deal with the problem. She had destroyed part of one of the drives, killed two of the crew, some crew members couldn't even be accounted for, and eventually the captain had idled the ship in space and cordoned off the ship bit by bit. They had used something called a wave modulator to actually see her if she phased. Eventually they had caught her and imprisoned her, until it was safe to leave her somewhere else. The crew had returned, made repairs, and then Destiny carried on with her journey.

"A wave modulator" Eli said to himself. "Now where am I going to find one of those?"

"In the same place that I found her?" Answered Franklin cryptically.

Eli shot from his chair. He hadn't been aware that Franklin had appeared. What if that had been the Vorradian? He really needed to keep alert.

"Franklin!" Eli shouted "You could have warned me! What if you had been that, thing?"

"Sorry Eli. I'm used to just popping in and out. What have you found?" answered Franklin.

"Well to be honest, only about this wave generator. Apparently it will show up the Vorradian even if she's phased. I don't know how because I can't find anything about the modulator itself. I've been holed up here all day looking at this data log but it's much degraded. Apparently some of the fitting crew were killed and others disappeared! Eventually they had a skeleton crew and went through the ship, bit by bit, until they caught her" Eli told Franklin as he paced around the captains quarters. "But I don't like this one bit. She's been here"

"What!" Exclaimed Franklin. "You've seen her?"

"Yes but I don't think she saw me. I could hear her singing and giggling. She was walking in front of me so I did a u turn and came here. She didn't seem to see me or notice me. But I feared for my life after what you told me" Eli explained.

"You are going to have to be really careful Eli."

"Don't you think I know this? I was scared out of my wits!" said Eli.

Eli sat back down on the chair, deflated. He rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired and hungry now and he didn't relish the journey back to the mess hall. But there was no food and water here. Staying wasn't an option. Eli made a decision and looked up at Franklin.

"Ok, time to go back" said Eli. "I'm tired and hungry. I still have a banging head ache. I need to rest"

"Come on then. We can discuss tactics while we walk back." Said Franklin heading to the door. He stood there waiting for Eli. Eli picked up his bag of tools and replaced his hand held inside. He approached the door and touched the panel to open the door. He cautiously looked outside. Then exited the captain's room. The corridor was clear and cautiously he made his way back to the mess hall. He stopped at every door and peered through before exiting each corridor.

"Eli? What are you doing?" Asked Franklin.

"Shhhhhh! Not so loud" Whispered Eli. "I'm not taking any chances. I told you, she appeared in front of me. I'm trying to save my skin"

"Ok" answered Franklin but not sounding too convincing.

Eventually they found themselves at the mess hall unscathed. Eli began to relax and then realised how tired he actually was. He yawned a massive yawn, as he walked to where his food was and after carefully filling his plate, sat heavily on the bench. He yawned again and then began to eat quietly. Eli yawned again and pushed his plate away. He really wasn't that hungry, exhaustion was overwhelming him.

"You look exhausted Eli"

"I'm going to have to go to bed" Eli noted. "I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open and everything hurts"

He got up from the table, picking up his tools as he went and began walking to the door, then turned back as he hadn't even cleared the table where he had eaten. He stretched and yawned as he went.

"I'll clear up in here Eli. Get yourself off to bed" Franklin told Eli. "Just make sure your door is locked behind you" Franklin warned.

Eli turned back the way he had come. "Night Franklin" Eli shouted over his shoulder. Eli left the Mess hall and without realising he made his way to the observation deck. He was almost there before he realised and stopped himself. "I'm losing it" he said out loud to no one in particular. Then he turned away and headed for his room.

It still felt strange being back in his old room. As cosy as he found it, when he first chose it, he preferred the openness of the observation deck. He missed watching the universe sweep by before he slept. He'd found it comforting. He had picked up his bag of tools and he put it on his desk and then took out his hand held. He did a quick system check, there was nothing untoward happening ,everything was just as it should be. His back really ached, probably from sitting all that time. When he was at home, he used to do this all the time, his back never ached like this. He stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his spine. He got himself into his bunk and then put the hand held beside him on the pillow before turning over. He closed his eyes and within a few short minutes his breathing became more regular and his tired muscles began to relax.

Eli slept well that night. He woke after a good night's sleep feeling totally refreshed and ready for whatever was out there. He looked at his hand held and was amazed to find that he had slept for almost ten hours! He did a quick check of Destiny. Again there was nothing going on that shouldn't have been. He rose from his bunk and got himself ready for the day. His stomach growled and he remembered, he had hardly eaten the day before and his stomach was protesting. He opened his door and made his way to the mess hall. He had an agenda in his head of all he wanted to achieve today. He wanted to get his hands on the cooker in the mess hall. He knew he could create something that worked more efficiently, than what they had now. He also had to go looking for the wave modulator but he had to find out what it looked like first. He hadn't a clue where to start. So he was going to have to search the data banks.

In the mess hall he picked up a handful of fruit and sat down to eat. Franklin was nowhere to be seen. Probably on one of his little jobs for the others he thought to himself. He looked across to the cooker and decided he would like to get his hands dirty today and work on something manual. As good as Maths Boy was he needed a break. Ancient formulas were way ahead of him sometimes and it took a lot of brain power understanding them and working them out. He finished his meal and cleared up, then picked up his bag of tools and went over to the place where meals were cooked. The 'cooker' if you could call it that, seemed old and dilapidated, like most things on Destiny. He laid his tools out on the bench along with a few small parts he had found in the tool store, you never knew what would come in handy. He took off the cover to look inside and could see that some of the parts were corroded and needed replacing. He took out a circuit at a time and inspected it for damage. He recognised some of the parts because he had used them building the ZPM and fixing the corroded parts on his life pod. He'd been so sure that it would be a software problem on the pod. Now he knew not to assume but to wait and check.

There was something that looked like a small, long, round ingot. It looked like a fuse. It had corroded badly, so he knew for definite that would need replacing. Eli fished around in some of the components on the table and couldn't find what he was looking for. He picked up his tool bag again and searched again and pulled out a similar looking ingot. He took the circuit board and prised off the old component. Then he scraped away all of the corrosion and wiped it over with a cloth. Then he placed the component on the board and fixed it with the small welding torch from his cache of tools. He placed the board back in and took out another. The job took him most of the morning. Inspecting the various components and replacing those that were corroded. Finally the machine was back in one piece and Eli switched it on. It lit up…Eli was worried at first…It never did that before and then the cooking unit hummed. This looked promising. He quickly cleared his tools away along with the odds and ends and then cleaned the table. I might even have a go at cooking tonight he thought to himself. He looked over at the small pile of root vegetables and herbs given to him by Lilly. He got up and found himself a knife and sat down back down again with a small selection of vegetables and began to peel and slice them and put them in a make shift cooking pot with water. He added some of the herbs and it smelt so good. He put it on to cook and whilst it cooked he decided to do a quick tidy of the mess hall and assess what he had left for rations. He felt really useful again and felt like he had had a very productive morning. After a few more minutes he turned the cooker off and decided to go to the bridge to search for the Wave modulator on the data base.

Eli opened the door from the mess hall and walked with a bit of caution towards the bridge. He didn't hear anything unusual or feel like he was being watched. He decided that Franklin was making him paranoid over nothing. He reached the bridge and pushed the control to open the door. The bridge was one of his most favourite places on the whole of Destiny. The shield doors were shut, so the first ting Eli did was to open them and look at the amazing view. The shield doors slowly opened to reveal the multi coloured space around him.

He sat at his favourite console and began his search through the data base. First he put in a search for a 'wave modulator' but it didn't come up with anything positive. It was good at telling him how you could modulate various waves but that wasn't what he was looking for. Eli sat back and took a breath whilst he decided what to put in next. He tried finding the log entries hoping that they could be indexed with what was on board the ship. But, there didn't seem to be an inventory as such. He tried a couple of other searches but to no avail. He wasn't getting anywhere with this. He read through the records again. Yes it definitely mentioned a wave modulator. Eli felt like he was going round in circles and getting nowhere fast. Where was Franklin when he needed him?

After another half an hour of searching Eli decided that he had had enough for the day and his stomach agreed. He hadn't eaten since his breakfast this morning and his poor stomach was telling him it was meal time. Eli closed the shield and closed down the console and decided to make his way back to the mess hall. Eli felt really good and he whistled as he made his way back to the Mess forgetting that there was a dangerous fugitive aboard Destiny.

He reached the mess hall and turned on the cooker. The food began to heat and the smell was amazing. It had felt like forever since he had a home cooked meal. He loved Lilly's meals. He didn't think there was a meal he hadn't liked. He stirred the pot of food and then decided after a few more moments he was going to dish it out. He was absolutely ravenous. He was thinking about the wave modulator as he wondered around getting a bowl and cutlery to eat with. He was almost on auto pilot. He made his way back to the table and dropped his spoon. As he bent to pick it up a small hand picked it up and handed it to him.

"Thanks" Said Eli automatically and he began to walk across the room. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. His breathing became a little quicker and there was an ache of fear deep in his belly as he realised that hadn't been Franklin's hand. The hand that had given him his spoon back was small, not a man's hand, definitely not. With a great sense of unease Eli turned slowly round. Absolutely terror struck, he gulped as he turned and he closed his eyes. Finally after fully turning around Eli opened his eyes slowly and through screwed up eyes looked at what was behind him. He clutched his plate and cutlery as if they would shield him from whatever was in the Mess with him. He looked around him and couldn't see anyone. He stood up straight and opened his eyes. He couldn't see anyone. He looked again. No, there wasn't anyone there. Eli took a deep breath. He realised that the vorradian was probably in there with him, somewhere and he wondered what to do. His stomach growled giving him an answer. He took his plate and cutlery to the cooker and put a generous measure of the stew into his bowl, and then he turned and went to the table to sit down and eat. He put his bowl on the table and dropped his spoon. Once again a little hand gave him the spoon. Eli didn't know what to do. He took the spoon from the little hand and thanked them. He realised he would have to act like normal in the hope that nothing nasty would happen to him. He turned and sat down at the table and looked across to the other side. Sat across from him was a little girl. Well it looked like a little girl. Eli wasn't sure where to look. He didn't want to stare but he didn't want to look away either. The little girl looked right back at him.

"You're Eli Wallace" She said quietly.


	28. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Eli looked at the young girl in front of him. She didn't look like the girl he saw before in the corridor. Did that mean there were two of them Eli thought to himself? A million thoughts began passing through his head and he soon realised that he was going to have to answer. He looked again into the face in front of him.

She looked as if she was in her teens but the eyes told you otherwise. The eyes looked like they were knowledgeable and worldly. They looked like they had seen many things in their time. She had fair skin, that was unlined by the passage of time and her eyes were a deep azure blue and oriental. She wore her dark but not quite black hair in a ponytail, high upon her head and her clothes looked like they were made of dark coloured leather. She was wearing a jacket with a simple top underneath. She had her elbow resting on the table and her head was resting in her hand. She looked at him waiting for an answer.

"You are Eli Wallace aren't you?" She asked again, as she sat up straight picked up her spoon and began to eat the meal in front of her. "OOO this is good!"

Eli continued to look.

"It's rude to stare you know" She said as she ate her meal.

Eli looked at his bowl and decided he had better act as normal as possible and he also began to eat. Oh this meal was a delicious. He hadn't realised how hungry he had been until now. She looked at him again, waiting for an answer. Eli stopped eating and without looking up replied "What if I am?"

The Vorradian finished her mouthful of stew and swallowed.

"Well I hope you are because I need a bit of help" She said. "You are Eli aren't you and not an Ancient because you certainly are dressed like one?"

"Yes, I'm Eli Wallace "said Eli eventually. "What can I do for you?"

"Well I need a bit of help actually and I think you are just the person to do it" She replied.

Eli looked incredulously at the Vorradian. She wanted him to help her! What was he supposed to say to that, he thought to himself?

"There's something we have to clear up first" Eli said. His voice wavered little and he coughed to cover it up. "What happened on the Destiny before you were locked up?"

"Oh, I guessed we would have to sort that out first. That wasn't me" She stated simply. Eli waited for her to elaborate.

"And….?" he asked.

"And what?"

"Well, who was it then?" He asked again.

"Do I have to go into detail?"

"Yes" He stated "Or I'm not going to help you"

The Vorradian looked pleadingly at Eli. Then she took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Originally there were three of us. We had hitched a ride to earth through the star gate because there was word that they were launching a fleet of ships across the universe. Well it was too good a chance to miss. We waited around for a while. The other two were not good companions. They got into trouble, more than once, and I tried to ditch them. I'm not like them. Some of my people are very… what's the word I'm looking for?... Immature "She explained. "Where I come from that's not something that is desired or condoned. Anyway we managed to get on Destiny. It was then that we realised that it was going to be unmanned. I was happy just to go for the ride, the other two weren't. There were some people on the ship, the Ancients, the builders of this magnificent vessel. The other two decided to have some fun, as they called it. I just went and hid. I wanted no part of it. Eventually the other two got bored and left. I didn't know what trouble they had caused until they found my hiding place. I tried to hide somewhere else but they found me again. This time they caught me. They accused me of harming some of their people. I did try to explain but they wouldn't listen. They were really horrible to me too and then they told me they were going to put me in stasis, to travel alone until they joined the ship and then I would be released somewhere safe. Only they never came." The Vorradian stared sadly at Eli. "So that's it"

"That's it?" Asked Eli. "I'd say that was rather a lot. And I'm supposed to believe every word? Are you telling me you didn't do anything?. Nothing?"

"Well I did have a play once or twice but I wasn't bad" She replied.

"And what do you call Play exactly?" Demanded Eli.

"Well, the ship builders though that Destiny was haunted. I had to have a little bit of fun. But I didn't do anything bad"

"What do you call bad?" Asked Eli. He didn't think he was going to enjoy the answer and felt like he was getting the run around.

"Well there was one really nervous person. I kept hiding his tools and moving things. But I got bored after a couple of days and went back into hiding. But that was it. It was fun" She said smiling.

Eli looked at her reproachfully. "Fun" He stated. The Vorradian squirmed in her seat, she looked guiltily at Eli.

"Ok" He said "So what do I call you?"

"Call me?" She replied.

"Your name?"

"Bird.." She informed him.

Eli couldn't help himself he grinned a wide grin and actually laughed.

"What's so funny?" Bird looked at him hurt and curious at the same time.

Eli held his hands up in a placating gesture, he stopped laughing but he couldn't stop grinning. "Well on my planet a bird has wings and flies… And also on my planet we have stories…Really old stories about something called Fairies. They have wings and fly."

"I don't get it" She looked really puzzled.

"Well on my planet we had some of your people. They are in our stories and we called you fairies. They had wings and flew. Well some of them did anyway. Not all of them" He explained.

Bird looked at him, hurt again. "I wouldn't mix with those trouble makers if it was the last thing I did!" She remonstrated. "I'm not like them at all!"

"I'm sorry" Apologised Eli. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"

"It's ok. You didn't know. Fairies mm. I quite like that word"

"So what do you want help with?" Asked Eli.

"It would be easier if I showed you" Replied Bird.

Eli was uneasy about this. He remembered all Franklin had told him and he really wasn't confident about believing everything Bird said. But he knew at some point he was going to at least try and trust her. After a few more moments Eli decided.

"Ok" He answered "But no funny business. I get one sniff of trouble and I will make sure you don't make anymore. Is that a deal?"

"Deal" said Bird. Then she got up from the bench so quickly that Eli almost lost her from view. He had to turn right round and look for her. She stood almost like an impatient child, in front of the mess hall doors.

"Come on Eli. You really will like it. Promise"

With a groan Eli got up and followed her. Bird punched the door control and almost skipped ahead of him. She sped along the corridors and talk animatedly as she did.

"Oh Eli this ship was so magnificent when it was first built. She was so beautiful and light"

Eli couldn't imagine the dark interiors of Destiny being bright. Everything was dark or in shadows, or it was dirty and neglect of the years alone showed.

"Oooo I can show you!" Bird squealed "Oh I forgot I could do that"

She ran back to where Eli was stood and held out her hand. Eli just looked at it at first as if it was some strange monster and he actually took a step back.

"Err no offence but I'm still at the beginning to trust you stage" He informed her.

Bird continued to hold out her hand. "Oh come on Eli, you really are missing something if you don't"

Reluctantly Eli took her hand. Bird closed her eyes. "Watch" She said simply. Then she opened her eyes. A pool of light, almost like the beam of a torch arced out away from them. Eli's mouth dropped open and he took a sudden breath. He looked about him in complete amazement. Hand in hand they walked down the corridor together, Eli looking about him like a child seeing something for the first time. What he saw was just so beyond him. In the shadow of the light, Destiny looked gleaming and bright. All the metal work was shiny and the corridors were filled with light. The shadows were gone. She was the most beautiful space ship, Eli had ever seen. He had only seen the spaceship he'd travelled on, when O Neill kidnapped him. That in comparison to this was like something made out of Lego. Every now and again a person could be seen entering the light, walking down the corridor, continuing with their tasks. To think this was what was happening thousands of years ago. Then the light began to fade and Eli found himself back in the dark interior of the present day Destiny. Eli stopped walking and stood still.

"It's gone" He said sadly.

"I can only do it for a little while, sorry" Bird apologised.

"It's ok, its ok!" Replied Eli. "It was just so amazing! How did you do that?"

"Well it's actually hard to explain. But beings like me are part of all of time. It's like strands of very fine silk all together, all at once, and I have to find the right strand and hold it. It takes a lot of effort, that's why I can't do it for long periods" bird explained.

Eli was still amazed at what he had seen. He looked up and down the dark interior of Destiny and marvelled at the contrast. Then Bird stopped at the door to a store room he had never been to. Then he realised to his horror, he didn't even recognise where on Destiny he was.

"Close your eyes" She ordered. "This is my second surprise"

Eli closed his eyes. All be it reluctantly. He thought he had had enough surprises for one day. He heard the door to the store room open.

"Don't open them yet. Give me your hand" She said.

Eli held out his hand and she led him into the room. He noticed it was warmer here and he could smell something familiar but he couldn't pin it down. They stopped walking.

"You can open them now"

Eli opened his eyes and for the second time that day, he was speechless. The store room stretched back quite a bit. All he could see were trees and plants. It looked like a forest with a huge clearing in the middle. All around the edges of the store room were tress. Trees of all kinds. Some quite small and others at least ten feet high. He was just amazed. In the middle of the clearing were some raised beds and these contained all sorts of leaves and he assumed they were vegetables. In between the trees were flowers. In between those there was grass.

"Wow" Said Eli as he turned and looked at the amazing sight in front of him. Then to one side he saw what looked like a Bedouin tent. "What's that?" He asked.

"That's my home, come see" said Bird as she walked towards the tent. "And hurry!" They both quickly walked to the tent and as they got under the cover it began to rain.

"It's raining!" Shouted Eli

"I played with the sprinkler systems" Explained Bird. "It's set to come on once a day"

"It's amazing!" Said an astounded Eli.

"You don't mind do you?" Bird asked.

"Mind!" Exclaimed Eli "Mind. We lost our hydroponics and all our plants. This is just.. It's just. Wow"

The rain stopped. Eli and Bird walked back out into the store room.

"How did you manage this?" He asked her "All on your own?"

"Where I came from I was a gardener. Well that's why I took Destiny to that planet. I wanted to do something useful. But I kept being chased by one of the ascended Ancients. He wouldn't listen to me either. So I let him believe he'd caught me. I let him put me back in that box and the minute he was gone I got straight back out again. He made life really hard for me!" Bird explained.

"Ahh that was Franklin" Eli answered. "He's actually new to all this"

"That explains it then. He's not very good as an ascended being is he?"

Eli laughed. "No I don't think so. But he's learning. You do know I nearly died on that planet"

"Oh I wouldn't have let that happen but I needed the basics to build this. I just let you have a little adventure while I did. You did enjoy yourself Eli" she held up her fingers in a pinching gesture "Just a little bit and don't tell me you didn't"

"I nearly died!" Exclaimed Eli.

"That wasn't my fault. That person Franklin kept interfering and then locked me out of the ships systems. It was quite hard keeping tabs on you"

"Ok I will let you off "Said Eli, holding his hands up in a placating gesture "This time. So what did you want help with exactly?"

"I have a few vegetables here. But not many. Have you seeds and things I could use?" Enquired Bird.

"As a matter of fact we have. I can see what I can do tomorrow. I need to find where they all are first"

"Thank you Eli. I just love growing things! I promise I will do a good job too"

Bird smiled at Eli. Together they both walked around the new Atrium. There were raised beds prepared with only a few plants. Some he recognised from the planet others he didn't. Eli realised he was breathing fresh air. It felt good and he was glad he had taken a leap of faith, but time would tell. Eli realised he was going to have to get back. At least he had some stew left to eat.

"Can you take me back Bird? There are still some things I have to sort out and it's late. I need to get back to my room and get some rest." Asked Eli finally. As much as he wanted to stay he knew he had to get back. There were things that still needed his attention. He realised now there was a possibility of waking the crew earlier. There were plants and trees, fruit and flowers. He had been working on the power issue but he knew there was more work to do, and maybe just maybe he had a new ally to help him do this. The prospect brought a smile to his face. It was early days but the chance was there.

"What's the smile for Eli?" Asked Bird.

"I'm just happy. This place is so nice. I have to get back though. Maybe tomorrow you could help me with a few jobs?" asked Eli

"Oooo I would love that!" Replied Bird.

Together they walked back to the mess hall. It was nice having someone to talk to at meal times. Bird told him of some of her adventures. Eli told her about is home and life on Earth. They chatted away and Eli realised he was going to have to go to bed. Bird thanked him for a very good meal and skipped back to her 'garden'.

Alone again Eli made his way to bed. He undressed and got into bed. He felt bone weary but happy. He put his head on his pillow and within minutes was fast asleep.


	29. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Eli turned lazily over. The rest of this journey might not be half bad, he thought to himself as he yawned loudly. He still hadn't opened his eyes, but they shot open when he heard a rustling in his quarters. He turned slowly to view his room and saw Franklin looking at something on his desk.

"What are you doing in my quarters and why are you looking through my things?" He enquired sleepily.

Franklin shot away from the desk, dropping papers, as if they were hot coals.

"About time you woke up!" Franklin exclaimed, still red faced from being caught snooping. "Why on Earth are you conspiring with that Vorradian? Haven't I warned you she is dangerous?"

"Whoa, whoa" said Eli as he got up from his bed. "For starters she has a name. It's Bird. And secondly I don't think she is as bad as you make her out to be. Have you seen that gorgeous garden she has made for us?"

"Hum!" Said Franklin grumpily. "She almost got you killed Eli! Come on how can you be so naïve! She must be getting something out of this. They are a selfish race Eli"

"Hold on a minute there Franklin. How can you make assumptions about things you know nothing about? Have you talked to her? You can't tar everyone with the same brush because one or two individuals have caused trouble!" Answered Eli.

"Well from the information I've gleaned from the others, they cannot be trusted. Not ever"

"Look I don't know who you have been talking to but Bird is as stuck here as we are. At least she is trying to help and doing what she knows best, at the same time. Yes, she might have gone to the planet and not thought through all of the outcomes. But she didn't do it selfishly. "Eli replied. "Now if you don't mind, I want to get dressed, have breakfast and see what I can be getting on with, whilst we have time yet to travel"

Franklin looked moodily at Eli but left Eli's quarters in a flourish, still angry that Eli trusted the Vorradian.

Eli got dressed and made his way to the mess. Something smelled real good. He sniffed the air and his stomach rumbled. Whatever it was it smelt amazing. Eli pushed the control to open the door to the mess. Wow, the smell was even better with the door open. Eli looked across at the cooker and saw Bird stirring a pot. He followed the smell to the pot.

"Wow that smells good Bird!" He said.

Bird jumped. "Oh I didn't hear you come in. It's a surprise for you. I watched you cooking yesterday and though I would give it a go."

Eli smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you. What is it?" He asked.

"Well some of the root vegetables were ready and I found some seasoning, it was on the table from the other day. So I've added some of that. I hope I've done it right. I haven't exactly done a lot of cooking".

"Well it smells wonderful" Eli looked at the stew and it looked as good as it smelt. "Is it ready?"

"It needs just a little bit longer" Replied Bird. She looked at Eli, as his face fell. "But if you sit at the table your breakfast is ready"

Eli looked at the table and saw a plate and something steaming in a cup. He walked over to the table and saw eggs on toast! Real eggs on toast. Eli looked at it amazed.

"Are these real eggs Bird" He said, not looking away from the plate.

"Yes, I've got a confession to make" She looked guiltily at Eli. "I've brought some birds on board as well." She scrunched her face up waiting for Eli to shout at her.

"You've brought birds aboard? " He asked simply.

"Yes, but don't worry they have plenty of food. I brought it from…."

"The planet" finished Eli. "Look Bird, as nice as all this is, we have to be able to sustain what we have. We can't afford to feed ourselves never mind animals"

"It's all sorted. Eat your breakfast and I will show you" Answered Bird.

"And what about the toll on the life support?" Asked Eli. "Have you really thought it out?"

"Yes I have honestly Eli, and I know it's a lot of work but please, I've worked all this out and I know it will work"

"Show me later won't you?" Said Eli "I really need to think about all this. I only just got the extra power for the shields sorted. You've got to remember this is a crippled ship. She's old and damaged. Too much strain and we can all die Bird. I don't think you realise."

"I do Eli more than you know. But I want to help and I might have an idea about that" Bird replied.

"I might have an idea too" Said Eli "But first things first and I think this breakfast needs eating before it gets cold."

Eli sat at the table and took in the plate in front of him. Bird came and sat with him looking expectantly at Eli.

"Bird I won't be able to eat if your staring at me "

"Sorry. I'm just so excited."

Eli cut a piece of the toast and then dipped it into the golden egg yolk. It immediately burst and ran over the toast on the plate. Eli lifted it to his mouth and popped it in.

"Mmmmm "Said Eli "This is delicious and how did you make toast?"

"My secret" Replied Bird mysteriously.

Then Eli lifted up the cup and sniffed at it suspiciously. Then stared into its depths.

"That's just herbal tea. "She informed him "I thought you might like a change from some of the awful stuff you call a drink. It's safe!"

Eli took a small sip. It was delicious and he took another sip. This was one breakfast he was going to remember. Eventually Eli worked his way through, what felt like an amazing amount of food. He pushed his plate away well satisfied.

"That was gorgeous. My complements to the chef" He said

"Chef?" Bird asked.

"On my world someone who cooks is called a chef"

"Oh it's another compliment" Said Bird happily.

"Yes Bird I paid you a compliment" Replied Eli chuckling. "Now where do you keep your birds?"

At this Bird smiled remembering the joke made days before.

"Follow me Eli. You're going to love it"

Bird grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the table. Then pulled him to where she was cooking and turned off the stove. She then headed for the door.

"Whoa!" Shouted Eli. "Slow down, we have to clean up first."

"We can do that later" Answered Bird excitedly. "Come on!"

Bird pulled Eli to the door and punched the panel to open it. Like Eli, she seemed to dance impatiently waiting for the door to open. Then she pulled Eli through the door. The pair of them ran to where Bird had set up the atrium. Again she punched the door and then waited impatiently again for it to open. The pair of them ran in. Eli paused for breath and Bird carried on into the atrium. She walked over the greened areas and made her way past the tent. Eli followed slowly, wondering what on Earth he was going to see. He edged slowly round the tent and was surprised to see chicken type birds. Bird herself was leaning down and stroking one. It held its head up for her to stroke like a cat, with its eyes closed. At that moment it spotted Eli and ran for cover.

"Come here Eli. They're very friendly but a bit shy. Sit here with me and they will come back. Eli did as he was bid and looked where the chicken had disappeared. Slowly, after a few minutes a small head appeared from behind a small clump of grass, and a beady pair of dark eyes looked at the pair of them. Slowly bit by bit the chicken approached Bird to be be stroked once more. Bird picked up Eli's hand and urged him to do the same. Bird removed her hand and Eli found himself stroking the most amazing creature he had ever seen. It angled its head this way and that, so that Eli hit just the right spot on its head.

"What do they eat?" Whispered Eli.

"Scraps from cooking and grain" Replied Bird.

"But we don't have any grain" Replied Eli.

"Yes we do." Said Bird " I brought it up from the planet.

Eli shook his head and smiled. "You're amazing" Stated Eli happily "How many are there? And what are they called?"

"They are called Gelms on their world and I brought five of them"

"Ok, Gelms it is." Eli was still stroking his Gelm but was staring far into the distance thinking.

"Are you ok Eli?" Asked Bird.

"Yes I was just thinking. I know the perfect person to help you here. I was thinking about this last night." Replied Eli.

"But there isn't anyone else" stated Bird.

"Yes there is. It's my turn to show you something" Said Eli.

He got up and Bird followed. They exited the Atrium and Eli led Bird to the deck with the pods in. When they reached the door Eli stopped and looked at Bird. "I hope I can rely on you" He said.

"For what?" Asked Bird.

"I'm going to show you something now. I was reluctant before. Franklin told me you weren't to be trusted, so I kept this place away from you. But I think I can trust you now and I can help you"

Eli opened the door and led the way in. Bird followed, unsure of what she was going to find. When she saw the stasis pods she took in a breath. "This is the crew" She whispered.

"Yes" replied Eli "And I know that there is a person here who can help you"

Bird looked expectantly at the pods. She could see Colonel Young and Rush but she stopped at one pod and looked inside. Eli came and stood at her side.

"This is Doctor Lisa Park. She loved the garden and the plants. She lost her sight trying to save some of the garden" He said sadly. "But I think she could help you. She really is good with plants"

Bird looked up at Doctor Park and put her hand to the case, then closed her eyes. After a few minutes she opened them. "I'm sure I can help her if she's going to help me"

Eli stepped up to the controls and began the waking process. As with Eli she was disorientated as she woke and like Eli she pitched forward and Eli caught her.

She coughed and looked about wildly, with unseeing eyes, then began to swat Eli with her hands.

"Doctor Park it's me, Eli "Said Eli.

Doctor Park stopped swatting at Eli and stood still.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Almost at our destination but I need some help. I've woken you early. But don't worry there is plenty of food"

Eli helped Dr Parks from her pod and shakily she stood up straight. "Give me your arm Eli and guide me" She said.

Eli did as he was asked and he gently guided her out of the life pod room, along with Bird. Dr Parks sensed someone else was there. "Who's that Eli" She said "I don't recognise them"

"This is our guest, she is called Bird" Explained Eli.

"Hello Bird" Said Doctor Park "and where did Bird find us?"

"That's a long story" Replied Eli. "Were going to have our dinner first"

With Eli guiding her, Doctor Park and Eli made their way to the mess hall. All the way Doctor Park asked questions and Eli answered all that he could. Eventually they made their way to the mess hall door.

"Oh, that smells wonderful" Exclaimed Doctor Park. Her stomach rumbled as they entered the mess. Eli showed her to a chair and sat her down, then went for bowl of stew. Bird had been ladling it out into a bowl for everyone. Eli took them to his table. He put the first in front of Doctor Park and then placed a spoon in her hand. Slowly she eased the spoon into the stew and drew out a small spoonful. She sipped at it and a smile erupted across her face.

"This is so good" She exclaimed as she took another mouthful. Bird and Eli also began to eat. The meal was eaten almost in silence, the enjoyment of the meal made them all speechless.

After their repast, Eli took hold of Doctor Parks hand.

"Now I'm going to take you somewhere" He said.

"That sounded very suspicious" She replied.

"Oh it's not" Said Eli.

Along with Bird they all made their way to the new Atrium. Doctor Parks didn't have a clue.

They soon reached the Atrium and Eli punched the door to open it.

Doctor Parks took in a breath of fresh air. "I can smell plants and flowers." She sniffed again and smiled a broad smile. "They're unfamiliar. "

Eli led her inside and took her to one of the raised beds. She leant into the soil and breathed in and out enjoying the fragrance. She lifted her head up.

"Quick Eli!" Shouted Bird. "It's about to rain!"

At first just small droplets began to fall and then there was a deluge. Eli dragged Doctor Parks to the tent and they hid under the canopy. All three dripped with rain.

"Where are we Eli" She asked.

"Well our guest, Bird made it. It's a new Atrium on the ship. But she needs help with it" Stated Eli. "And you're it."

"Me?" Replied Doctor Parks.

"Yes you. I can't think of anyone else" Replied Eli. "Wave still got to do a few more months in space, we have enough food, and Bird is growing some. And we have something else too"

"What do we have?" Said a puzzled Doctor Parks.

"We have flowers and herbs. We have some vegetables and fruit trees and something called a Gelm. Come on I'll show you"

The rain had stopped and Eli took Doctor Parks to the back of the tent where he had sat the day before. He urged Doctor Parks to sit down and after a few moments the Gelm came to Eli. Eli took Doctor Parks' hand and stroked the birds head as he had done the day before.

"Oh it's warm" Doctor Parks said. The bird began to press its head into her hand as she hit just the right spots with her hand "Amazing "She whispered." But I don't think I can help much."

"Of course you can. Bird can show you all the plants and what to do. You'll learn and help us to produce more food for Destiny" Said Eli.

Doctor Parks looked away from them. "But I can't see. I'm no use to anyone. Let alone myself. I'm a burden"

"No you're not" Exclaimed Eli. "It's just a matter of adjusting. You can do it"

"I'm tired Eli. Can you take me to my room?" said Doctor Parks.

"I can put you in a room near me. That would be better. I can be there if you need anything" Replied Eli.

"Ok" The Doctor replied. "I'm sorry Eli. I think I must be tired and I've overdone it for one day."

"That's ok" Said Eli.

He helped Doctor Park to her feet. And they made their way to the door.

"Bird" Eli shouted "Are you coming?"

"No I'm going to stay a bit longer"

Eli led out Doctor Park. The pair of them made their way back towards Eli's quarters. He helped Doctor Park to get settled in her room and asked her to leave her door open so if she needed anything he could help her and then as it was the end of the day he went back to his own room. He started to get ready for bed. He wondered whether he had made the right decision. He got into bed but left his door opened for just in case. He settled down and his eyelids became heavy. Then he heard Doctor Park sobbing.

"Are you ok?" He shouted.

After a few sniffs the reply came "Yes I'm fine Eli. Night"

"Night" Replied Eli. He settled down again and again he heard Doctor Park quietly sobbing. He felt guilty and wondered whether he should have left her in stasis.


	30. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Eli awoke to the sound of someone moving around in his quarters… again.

"Franklyn! Whatever it is put, it down and go away!" Eli muttered with his eyes still closed.

"It's not Franklin. It's me" Responded Dr Park. "I need the loo Eli and I'm famished. Sorry but I'm desperate"

Eli looked up to see Dr Park near the door, hanging on for dear life and dancing from foot to foot.

"I'm sorry!" Eli shouted as he got quickly out of bed to lead Dr Park to the ablutions and the chance of a shower.

"I'll wait outside for you" Said Eli "We don't want you getting lost"

Dr Park giggled like a school girl. "I actually feel happy today" She stated to no one in particular.

Eli smiled but he still had a guilty look when he thought about the night before. He wondered if there was something he could do, apart from a really good breakfast and another trip to the atrium. Soon Dr Park had finished her shower and they both made their way to the mess hall. They didn't need to know their way as they could smell breakfast well before they got there, and their stomachs growled in unison, which set off a peal of laughter from the both of them. In high spirits they entered the mess hall and Bird was there.

"Breakfast is on the table" She said to the pair of them. "Eggs on toast. I know Eli likes it. I hope you do too Dr Park"

"Please call me Lisa. Dr Park is far too formal" responded Dr Park as Eli helped her to the table and sat her down. "It smells delicious."

"Do you want me to cut it up for you?" Asked Eli a little embarrassed.

"Oh please! It will make life so much easier for me. Thank you Eli" She answered.

Eli carefully cut up Dr Parks's meal and then carefully handed her a knife and fork. With deliberate movements Dr Park began to eat her breakfast.

"It's been so long since I had an egg"Enthused Dr Park"This is amazing"

Bird beamed. "Glad you like it"

The three of them entered into a happy banter whilst breakfast was being eaten. Eli felt like it was so long since he had enjoyed proper company and a decent meal together. But all too soon breakfast was finished and it was time to get on with their duties for the day.

Eli, Bird and Dr Park headed for the Atrium after breakfast. Eli knew Dr Park really missed her plants and she enjoyed the company of Bird. Bird made allowances for her and tried to make sure Dr Park had a good time. They all sat on the small grass knoll and the Gelms came and sat near them. Dr Park held out her hand in front of her when she heard them approach and was rewarded with one putting its head in her hand to be stroked and petted.

"What are we doing today then?" Asked Bird.

"Well I need to have a look at what needs doing around the ship for one. I think we have about eighteen months left give or take a week. I want to see what I can do for the ship before we reach our destination. I did some good things like making that ZPM. I might be able to do more" Replied Eli.

"You made a ZPM?" Asked Dr Park.

"Well, with the help of Destiny. I wanted to see what we could do with the shields and it showed me some plans and I built them. It enabled us to travel through a star and deal with the Nakai." Said Eli.

"It's a conduit Eli. Not a ZPM "Bird interjected.

"What?" Asked Eli.

"It's a conduit. It does store energy but remember when you built it, were both ends similar?" Asked Bird.

"Actually.. Yes "Replied Eli, puzzled.

"It moves energy around but it's able to regulate it and send energy to where it's needed, when the ship asks. As well as store it" Bird informed Eli.

"How do you know?" Asked Eli, excited at the possible knowledge he could glean from her. "Do you know more about Destiny I could use?"

"Sorry Eli. I only know because I watched them putting it in" Replied Bird.

Eli's shoulders fell. "Oh I thought you might know more"

"Well there is something more I know. But I don't know if it will help you" Suggested bird.

"Oh tell me" Eli responded. His hopes building again.

"But I think it might be too dangerous for you and the crew" Bird answered.

"Try me and we will see" Stated Eli. This could be his chance to do something really positive until the end of their journey. The thoughts began flying through his head.

"Eli, it could be dangerous and you're going to have to trust me and you're going to have to get Franklin off my back" Replied Bird.

"Hold on a minute. Franklin?" Asked Dr Park.

"Yes Franklin." Said Eli.

"The Franklin?" Asked Dr Park.

"Yes the Franklin." Replied Eli.

"But how? He died!" Dr Park exclaimed.

"Well no he didn't, well not exactly. He ascended" Eli informed Dr Park "And he comes back every now and again. But he tends to interfere" Said Eli pulling up a blade of grass. He was still thinking about how he could help everyone.

"Wow. Things really have moved on Eli!" Said an astounded Dr Park.

"Ok, back to the subject" Bird interjected. "It's dangerous and meddling will endanger everyone's lives".

"Ok, we will sort it but what's the idea Bird?" Eli asked.

"When they were building this ship, they talked about a way station" Bird explained. "It's got ship supplies and it's where parts can be repaired, replaced or manufactured"

"Do you know where it is?" Said Eli, now animated and excited again. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"I can take us there. Like on the planet. Some of the fitters talked about the way station. I know roughly where it is. We just need to look through Destiny's data base. There must be some mention of it"

"How are you going to do it?" Asked Eli.

"Simply to me, space is like a million webs, all joined and crossed in some way or another. I can stretch the fibres that make up these webs. But only for a limited time. I could get us there and bring us back."

Eli looked at Bird absolutely speechless. "You can do that?"

"It's part of what I am. Remember, Franklin explained to you, about my being able to phase in and out. Time and space are what my race is made of. It's what we are about"

"If that's true we might be able to restore more of Destiny's systems or at least to get parts to use as we travel. This is amazing Bird. It's the best news I've heard in a long time!" Exclaimed Eli. The Gelms all scattered at Eli's raised voice and swirling arms

"Eli, calm down!" Bird shouted at Eli. "There are things you need to do. And you're going to have to trust me Eli"

"I trust you" Said Eli, a little saddened at Birds lack of belief in him.

"It's not you that's the problem. It's Franklin. He's forever trying to interfere." Explained Bird.

"I will deal with Franklin. I will make sure he stays away from you. Now what do we need to do?" Eli realised this might be the best thing to ever happen and that they might be able to repair some of the critical systems.

"Well first of all, before I take us, you will have to go back in stasis. If you're part of the ship it's easier to move you and you will come to less harm. It's not pleasant to feel the move if you aren't like me. The gelms will have to go with you too. It won't be a long stay but it will mean you might be able to do some repairs and take on supplies to fix the ship while you travel to where you are going. That's if the way station still exists. That I can't tell you." Explained Bird. "I just need the coordinates and off we go"

Eli felt like it was Christmas. Finally he could do something really good "Ok. So we need to go to the bridge and make a start. This is going to be so good. I can't wait"

"Hold on Eli. We haven't even found it yet. I only have a rough idea of where it is! "Bird exclaimed. "It might not even be there anymore"

"So we had better start looking" Eli said as he stood up to make his way to the bridge.

"I will finish up here first" Said Bird "Come on Lisa we have some tidying up to do"

Eli left and Dr Park and Bird began collecting tools and making sure the Gelms were comfortable. As they worked Bird turned to Dr Park. "Can I ask a personal question and if I'm out of line please tell me."

"Sure ask away" Replied Dr Park as she felt around for her tools.

"I know Eli told me before, about how you lost your sight, but can you tell me again?" Asked Bird.

"Well we were trying to save plants in what you would call the atrium. It was a huge dome. We were short on power and we had to fly through a blue giant. I was saving what plants I could before we entered the gas giant. But I left it just a little too late and Destiny locked me into the dome room. I had to jump into one of the pools of water to try and save myself and the plants I had saved. The heat was tremendous and light was so bright. It burnt my optic nerves. At first we thought and hoped it was temporary. But sadly it wasn't and that means I am blinded permanently." Dr Park looked down sadly and a single tear ran down her cheek and fell off onto her knee.

Bird put her finger under Dr Parks chin and lifted up her head and looked into her sightless eyes. "Hey I didn't mean to make you cry." She said gently. She pulled Dr Park into a hug. "Can I take a look?"

Dr Park lifted her head. "At my eyes?"

"Yes. But I don't want to offend you" Replied Bird.

"Ok, you can look" Sightlessly she looked ahead and Bird took a good look into her eyes.

"What can you see" Dr Park asked.

"Well I can see that the nerves are there. But they are damaged… Can I try something?"

"You can see into my eyes? But you haven't got anything to see with!" Exclaimed Dr Park.

"I have magic remember… I'm a fairy you know" Replied Bird. The pair of them giggled at the joke and the mood lightened. Then the smile on Lisa Parks face faded with the reality of the situation sank in.

"Do you think you can help?" Asked Dr Park.

"Possibly. I'm a gardener you know I make things grow" Replied bird as she continued to examine Dr Parks's eyes. "Ok, I think I know what to do. I don't know if it will work. But I want to try"

"Ok I'm ready" Stated Dr Park." It's not as if you can damage them anymore"

Bird began to feel around Dr Parks head with her fingertips. She gently slid them around her face and her temples. "Ok I'm looking for your neural pathways; once I know where they are I will begin. If you feel uncomfortable please tell me and I will stop"

"Ok" Dr Park replied.

Gently Bird got Dr Park to sit on her knees and then continued to feel round her face and around her temples. Her eyes were closed in concentration and her brow was lined with effort she was making. Finally her hands stopped moving and she splayed her fingers out across Dr Parks's temples and ears. Her breathing became shallower. Bird began to repeat words under her breath. Perspiration began to appear on her forehead and her face became strained and increasingly pale. Then she began to phase and her body became almost transparent. Stars seemed to begin revolving around them both, circling faster and faster. Faster and faster they circled until the individual stars couldn't be seen, just flashes of light. Dr Park's hair began to fly around in some invisible wind. Then the flashes began to slow, the stars reformed then slowed more and disappeared. Bird began to become solid and Dr Park's hair once more lay motionless. Bird, now solid once more, took her hands away from Dr Parks head and sat on her knees in front of her.

"Open your eyes Lisa" She said gently.

"I'm too afraid" Replied Dr Park, her voice trembling.

"Open them" Bird said again.

Slowly Dr Park opened her eyes. At first she blinked rapidly. "They feel like they are full of grit"

Slowly she opened them again. "I can see light and dark!" She exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

"It will get better. Your brain has to learn how to use your eyes again"

"What did you do?" Asked Dr Park in wonder.

"I've rerouted your optic nerve and grown something new. It's like teaching a plant to grow. You nip out the bad parts and encourage it to grow healthily."

"Will I be able to see?" Dr Park asked hopefully.

"Once your brain gets used to it, I think so. I've never tried anything like this on a human before. Only on my own people"

Dr Park looks around in wonder, still stunned that she may regain her sight. She reached out in front of her and took hold of Birds hand"Thank you … Thank you. I thought I would never see again!" Tears began to spill down her cheeks.

Bird lifted Dr Park to her feet and both of them stood. "We need to make our way to the bridge to help Eli. Are you up to it?" Bird asked.

"Yes I'm fine. Let's go. But can you do something for me? Don't mention this to Eli. I want to see if it works first" Said Dr Park.

"If that's what you want, yes"

Bird took hold of Lisa's hand. Lisa gave it a squeeze and looked at Bird"Come on lets go. Eli's waiting for us"


	31. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Bird led Lisa onto the bridge and took her to a spare seat and sat her down. The two girls gave each other a knowing look and Bird dropped Lisa's hand and then turned to Eli. Eli looked at the pair of them with a puzzled look wondering what was going on with the pair of them.

"You two alright?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Yes fine "Replied Bird. "Where do you want me to sit?"

"Anywhere you like. We're going to have to go through the data base and see if we can find the Way Base. And because you don't know where it is, we need to find key words or maybe star systems. So I think today will be a hard slog I'm afraid. Are you going to be alright sat there Dr Park? "Eli responded.

"Oh I'm fine and please Eli, call me Lisa. Use me as a sounding board. I don't mind sitting here, honest Eli."

"Ok, here we go then. We need to start with words… things like, station or base maybe. You know the drill I suppose." Said Eli.

"Yes I got you. Come on then let's make a start" Bird suggested.

The pair of them began to type in on their consoles and to start looking through Destiny's immense data base. Every now and again one or other would look up and think, before trying something else. The day was passing. Lisa still sat quietly and Bird typed into her console sometimes making faces. Eventually Eli looked at Bird. "Can you remember anything that was said? I'm getting nowhere with this! I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for, there are so many references to sort through. It's going to take us a century to get through them!"

Bird thought for a moment, "They said something like it was a station on the way, like a stopping point or what else did they call it? Something like in the west… that's what it sounded like. I'm sorry Eli. I only heard snatches of conversation."

"No hold that thought. I think it might help." Eli replied and began to tap on the console. He stopped and then tried something else. That didn't seem to work and he looked puzzled before trying something else. Then he looked up. "I think I might have it! Bird does…" He looked down at the screen " … Mansione in via est, sound right?"

Bird thought for a minute. "It sounds familiar especially the last bit"

"Ok" Replied Eli and he began to feverishly type on the keyboard. "I think I might have something"

Suddenly in the middle of the room a three dimensional display appeared. A small solar system appeared. There was a sun and around that orbited just four small planets. Only one looked green and promising, the others seemed to look dead and barren. Eli got up from his seat and he walked towards the display. Bird looked on. He looked at the green planet as it rotated.

"I don't see anything" Eli said. He walked around the display. Then he looked at Bird and shrugged his shoulders.

Bird at first looked puzzled and then became animated and almost ran towards the display. "You won't Eli. When Destiny was launched it hadn't been built. Think about it. This mission that Destiny is on had never been attempted before. There were seed ships going through the galaxies. Maybe it was the seed ships that 'left' a base or two as they went for ships to use in case of emergency"

"You could be right!" Exclaimed Eli.

"Would somebody like to fill me in?" Questioned a very puzzled Lisa Park.

"Sorry Lisa, but we think we've found the base but we can't confirm it because when Destiny was built and launched, we don't think the base had been built" Replied Eli.

"I wouldn't have thought of that" Lisa replied.

"Neither did we "Replied Bird. "We still might not be right but we can possibly dig a bit more and find something"

"You might be right. Now we've found it we can start to narrow down the references" Eli stated. He gave Bird a hug. Bird looked very surprised but hugged him back.

"I think we should celebrate with dinner" Said Bird. "I put a pot of stew to cook this morning. And it smelt amazing. It won't take long to heat up again." Every one nodded in agreement.

She walked to Lisa and picked up her hand, ready to lead her to the mess hall. Lisa stood up and Bird led the way. Eli was still looking at the display.

"Come on. Dinner!" Said Bird to Eli. "You can't work on an empty stomach."

Eli felt his stomach growling in agreement. "Ok I'm coming. I just want to try something. You go ahead. I'll catch up."

Lisa and Bird exited the Bridge and the doors closed behind them.

"I wouldn't trust her if I was you. You don't know what she's capable of" Said a voice behind Eli.

Eli turned to the voice. "You don't know her as well as I do Franklyn" He replied.

"Eli I'm only looking out for you! She's dangerous. Don't trust her" Franklyn pleaded.

"I've been working with her a lot and she can be a little rash, but she isn't dangerous!" Eli replied. "All she's done is to help"

"By using your resources, your resources aren't limitless Eli and she's burning them up!" Franklyn shouted at Eli.

"Franklyn, you haven't spent time with her. You don't know her. All you're doing is interferering in something you know little about, except hearsay from the Others. Have you ever thought they are using you! You know how the Ancients just love a little play with the lesser beings" Eli almost sneered. "I want you to leave us alone unless you are going to help"

"You know I can't help! It's against the rules!" Franklyn replied.

"How convenient!" Eli replied. "You're very good at helping at other times but now I'm asking for help you won't give it"

"I can't Eli! I've told you already!"

"Yes you've told me already. If you aren't going to help leave us alone!" Eli cried.

Eli stormed towards the doors and punched the controls. "And leave Bird alone!"

"Is that a threat?" Shouted Franklyn.

.

The doors closed and Franklyn was left alone on the bridge.

"No that's a promise" Eli said to himself as he stormed down the corridor. Then he stopped and took a few breaths, he didn't want to frighten Bird or Lisa with this. He'd warned Franklin and hoped that was enough, he wiped his face with his hands and took a deep breath to calm down and then jogged after the two girls.

He soon caught up and Bird gave him a quizzical look "Everything alright Eli"

"Yes fine. I was just having a rant to myself. Were so close and I don't want anything to go wrong now. Come on let's eat and we can discuss what we're going to do next. There's a lot to think about"

The three made their way through the ship and to the mess. There was stew again for tea but it smelt gorgeous and everyone's mouth watered in anticipation of the coming meal. Bird had managed to dig up some tubers she said were like earth potatoes and had brought them up earlier. These were bubbling away and were almost done. "Ok boiled or mashed?" Bird asked "I don't have butter but I'm willing to try anything at least once." She began to ladle stew from a steaming pot onto plates.

"Oh can we just have them boiled and then we can put gravy on them? Oh I do love gravy and it's so long since I've had it?" Lisa asked.

"Sounds good to me" Said Eli. His stomach rumbled in anticipation of the meal to come and everyone laughed. "I can't help it" He exclaimed. "It's ever since I started eating real food!" Again everyone laughed, even Eli. Things were so good for them right now, though Eli. Bird got up and began to ladle out the potatoes onto plates already laden with stew. One by one they were brought to the table. Bird cut up Lisa's meal and everyone began to eat.

"Ok, so how are we going to do this?" Asked Eli.

"We have to think about the rest of the crew and if it's a good decision to begin with. We're taking a great risk" Volunteered Lisa.

"That's true" Answered Eli. "I was wondering whether we wake up Colonel Young and ask him or whether it's better to let him sleep"

"And what if there isn't a base there at all?" Asked Bird. Everyone stopped and looked at Bird. "Well that might be the case. We don't know. We could make the jump and find nothing"

"I think we were so busy planning what we wanted to do we forgot" Said Eli sadly. "There must be a way to find out"

"But how?" Asked Lisa. "It seems so far away from where we are"

"It is" said Bird" But I may have a way. It's only an idea and it would be less taxing for me and then we could have a good idea what to do next. Then we have all the information we need to talk to your Colonel Young. At the moment we only have ifs to go on. That's not a lot of information is it?"

"So what's this idea?" Asked Eli.

Bird took a breath before speaking. "You have shuttles, I've seen them. I'm sure I could jump in one of them. It would mean I was safe, the base might not be there remember, I could take a look around and maybe even take some visual info and bring it back with me. From that, we could evaluate if the base was a real possibility and see what's there for us, maybe. It would save me a lot of energy and maybe even save us a wasted journey." She shrugged her shoulders "It was only a thought." Bird took another deep breath and finished her meal.

"Actually that's not a bad idea really. We don't know if anything's there. I mean it's an old base. So what you're saying actually makes sense."

Lisa nodded in agreement "I agree, it's a wise decision"

"Ok that's decided then" Said Eli. "I think once we've eaten we should go and relax in the atrium, there's nothing else we can do tonight"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Can I ask a big favour of Bird first though" Asked Lisa.

"Sure, what is it?" Bird asked.

"I don't want to sleep on my own. I can't see and if I need to get up in the night there's no one about to help me. Would you move into my room, well until you go?" Asked Lisa.

"I'm sure I could do that. It's not a problem. We can move one of the mattresses into your room. No problem." Bird replied.

"Oh really! Thank you so much!" Lisa replied happily. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all. We can have a girly night" Suggested Bird.

Eli looked up at the ceiling, and sighed. "What is it with girls and girly nights?" He laughed. Eli stood up and collected everyone's dishes. He took them across to the cooker ready to be washed.

"Come on then let's get this mattress moved" He said.

The three of them headed for Lisa's room. Thankfully it was a double sized room. Eli and Bird left Lisa in her room and found an unoccupied room and manhandled the mattress off the bed. It slipped and slid as they pulled it off . Then they struggled with the weight of the mattress. Eli was huffing and puffing and poor Bird was dwarfed by the size of the mattress. "And I thought this was going to be easy" Exclaimed an out of breath Bird. Together they managed to get it to the door. Then realised they were going to have to put it down because they didn't have any hands to operate the door. Eli looked at Bird and Bird looked at Eli. They both let go of the mattress and Bird sank to the floor pinned to the wall by the mattress.

"This was supposed to be an easy job, wasn't it? " Said Bird laughing and out of breath.

Eli sank to the floor at the other end of the mattress laughing. "I thought it was going to be easy"

After a bit of a break, they both struggled to get to their feet. "Hold it." Said Bird. She turned around in the little space she had and punched the control to open the door. The door slid open. The two of them picked up the mattress and began to try and get it through the door. They realised they were going to have to bend the mattress to get it through the door.

"This feels like a sketch in a comedy film" Eli said.

"A comedy sketch?" Asked Bird.

They began to move it through the door but it was a tight squeeze and Eli was taller than Bird. "Yes on my world we have someone called a comedian; these people take normal situations and make them funny. Like were doing here" His voice was slightly strained as he pulled the last of the mattress through. Suddenly it came through the door and the pair of them were thrown to the floor, the mattress landing on top of them. Both heads appeared, followed by peals of laughter. They were laughing so much they had to stop for a moment to get their breaths back. Then they took hold of their respective ends and again began to pull the mattress to Lisa's room. Then they had the same struggle again. Lisa's door thankfully was open. As they pushed and pulled the mattress into the room Bird and Eli were giggling and laughing. Finally it fell through the door and the pair of them fell about laughing. Lisa looked on bemused and smiling.

"What are you two up to?" Lisa asked. Eli and Bird burst out laughing again. Lisa began to laugh with them. All three of them laughed until they were breathless. They eventually positioned the mattress on the floor and made it up for Bird to sleep in. Bird threw herself on it.

"I'm absolutely shattered" Bird said talking to no one in particular.

Eli was sat at the end of Lisa's bed and replied "So am I"

"Well that's all three of us" Lisa added.

"Right guys I think it's time for bed. We will look at the shuttle in the morning and go from there." He stood up and gave a little bow. "Night night ladies. Sweet dreams" Eli yawned a great yawn, which spread to all of them.

"Night Eli" Said Bird.

"Night Eli" Said Lisa.

"Good night "Answered Eli as he went through the door. He closed it behind him and made his way to his room. As he walked he decided to go to the observation deck and take a look at his favourite view. He entered the observation deck and sat wearily on the bench. He thought about all he had done and how their fortunes on the Destiny had changed everyone's lives forever. He wondered about whether he would see home again and what his mom was up to now. He wondered whether she was looking at the same stars as him millions of miles away. A mood of melancholy settled and his happy mood evaporated. There was so much riding on the next few days. He continued to look through the observation window as someone seemed to glide past and quickly peek through the doors window. Eli didn't notice as he continued to gaze at his favourite view.

Bird and Lisa were asleep in their beds. Exhausted from the day's events. A faint metallic tapping sound could be heard. Bird moved in her sleep, disturbed by the noise. She frowned in her sleep and slowly her eyes flickered open. She frowned again as she heard the metallic tapping…tap…tap….tap…tap… Bird sat up in bed. Her head cocked to one side, she quietly stood up. She looked over at Lisa who was flat out, undisturbed. She made her way to the door and pushed the door control and screwed her eyes up, realising that it may wake Lisa. Checking Lisa hadn't been disturbed, Bird left the room closing the door behind her and then standing still to hear from what direction the noise was coming from.

"Eli?" She whispered down the corridor, thinking it might be Eli on one of his many projects. There was no reply. She walked down the corridor and the noise became slightly louder. She continued to walk, holding her breath, until she came to the Gate room. She looked through the window in the door but couldn't make out who was there. There was nothing for it, she tapped the door control and the door opened. She could see into the room but still couldn't make out who was in there. It was gloomy and dark. She screwed her eyes up to see but to no avail; she still couldn't make out who it was. She stepped into the room and the door slammed shut behind her making her jump with fright.

"Eli? Eli?" She questioned the figure in front of her. The figure didn't reply. Bird was becoming afraid. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Not looking away from the figure she stepped back to the door and tried the control. It didn't work. Bird looked around her wondering what she could do. She didn't want to turn away from the figure in front of her, afraid of what might happen if she did.

The figure in the gloom turned and she could see the figure walking towards her. Her breaths were coming short and fast as she stared ahead.

"I told you not to interfere. I told you I would stop you" Said the figure menacingly.

The figure emerged from the gloom. His expression was one of fury. He walked with great purpose towards Bird. Then she realised, with a heavy heart and her stomach aching with fear, that it was Franklyn.

"I haven't done anything wrong" She said nervously. "I've helped. They need my help"

"Really!" Franklyn spat back at her. "And what are you hoping to get out of this!"

"A home and friends. These people are my friends!" Bird although experiencing great fear answered with a more solid voice.

"Your kind doesn't do anything for anyone else. You are thieves and takers!" Franklyn shouted back.

"I am not like that and for that matter, neither are a lot of 'my kind'! You are naive and know nothing about me and my kind!" Bird spat back. "Go away and leave us all alone!"

"I don't think so! I am going to stop you once and for all. I've watched your devious actions and up until now I wondered what you were plotting! Today you answered that question for me and now I'm going to put to an end your interference!"

"Interference. I haven't interfered and I'm not plotting anything!"

Franklin stood in front of the Gate, glaring at Bird. Bird had stepped further into the room. Bird realised that she was in mortal danger and she was going to have to protect her friends, even if it meant her death.

"Franklyn, go away and leave us all alone. I'm not plotting!"

"I'm here to protect those humans! "Franklyn cried and he raised his hands. Bird knew that death was going to be the only outcome here. The only question was whose. She raised her hands ready for what Franklyn may throw at her and waited. Franklyn began to laugh.

"You really think you can fight me!" Franklyn cried and fire seemed to appear from his hands and launch at Bird. Bird jumped out of the way.

"What are you doing?" She cried.

"I think I might like a little fun before I dispose of you!" Franklyn replied sarcastically.

"Fun! I think you are seriously sick Franklyn!" Bird spat back at him.

In the observation lounge Eli was sure he could hear voices but he thought everyone had gone to bed. He turned towards the door and listened. It was muffled but he could hear raised voices. Quickly he got up from the bench and opened the observation decks door. Yes he could hear voices. He turned his head and realised they were coming from the direction of the Gate room. He began walking towards the voices when he heard what sounded like thunder and then Birds voice. Yes it was definitely Bird he could hear. Eli began to run. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He didn't like the sound of what was going on. Soon he arrived at the Gate room and looked through the window. He saw Bird with her back to him and Franklyn in front. He saw Franklyn raise his hands. As he did a ball of light began to grow in each hand. The brightness grew and grew and seemed to be like a million tiny lights all moving faster and faster until they became a blur. Eli realised what was happening and began to bang on the door.

"Franklyn! Franklyn!" He yelled. "Leave her alone" He beat the door harder and harder and he shouted until he was hoarse.

Bird realised that Eli had arrived and was witnessing what was going on.

"Why don't you just leave?" She shouted at Franklyn. Then she saw him raise his hands and saw them begin to glow. Real fear for her life began to grow. She knew she was no match for an Ancient with a power as great as his. She knew he wouldn't let her leave alive and she knew there wasn't anything she could do. It was no use running and a single tear fell down her face as she knew what Franklyn was about to do. She took a deep breath and let her hands fall to her sides. She turned to Eli and mouthed "Its ok" to Eli before turning back to face Franklyn.

Eli on the other side of the door continued to punch at the door, trying vainly to get in. "Bird!" He shouted "Bird!" As he continued to watch helplessly, tears streaming down his face, he saw stars begin to form around Bird. They began to multiply and travel around her faster and faster, until seemed she was a form made of stars. Then Franklyn threw his hands forward and the light bombarded Bird. Bird screamed and writhed in agony. The assault went on and on. Eli screamed. "Noooooo". He continued to bang at the door screaming. Then there was a huge flash and both Bird and Franklyn disappeared. The Gate room went suddenly dark and silent. Eli on the other side of the door took in a breath of shock.

Eli sobbed. The door to the room opened and Eli stood there alone in the darkness. He stepped into the room and realised it was totally empty. There was no one there. Eli ran into the room sobbing.

"Bird!" He shouted. The sound seemed to echo round the empty room. Eli now in the centre of the room, crumpled to his knees. "Bird" He whispered "Bird". Tears fell from his face and dripped on his knees. "Bird" He whispered again. He closed his eyes and cried. "Bird".


End file.
